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A  SERMON 


COMMEMORATIVE    OF  THE 


Two  -  Hundredth   Anniversa ry 


First    Congregational    Church. 


WESTFIELD,    MASS., 


DELIVERED   RY    TH/E    PASTOR, 

Rev.    JOHN     H.    LOCKWOOD, 


SUNDAY,  OCTOBER  5,  1879, 


To    which    an    Appendix    is    added. 


PUBLISHED     BY     REQUEST. 


westfield,  mass.: 

Clark  &  Story,   Printers. 

1879. 


A   SERMON 


COMMEMORATIVE    OF  THE 


Two  =  Hundredth   Anniversa ry 


First    Congregational   Church 


WESTFIELD,    MASS., 

DELIVERED  BY    THE    PASTOR, 

Rev.    JOHN     H.    LOCKWOOD, 


SUNDAY,  OCTOBER  5,  1879, 


To    which    an    Appendix    is    added. 


PUBLISHED     BY     REQUEST. 


westfield,  mass.: 

Clark  &  Story,   Printers. 

1879. 


Copy  of  Correspondence. 


Westfield,  October  6,  1879. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Lockwood, — Dear    Sir: — We,    on   behalf  of  the 
Society    of    the    First    Congregational    Church   of     Westfield, 
respectfully  request  of  you  a  copy  of  your  Bi-Centennial  His- 
torical Sermon  for  publication. 

Henry  W.  Bates,  ^    _      _ 

!   Prudential 
Junius  A.  Talmadge, 

Lyman  M.  Smith, 


Committee. 


Westfield,  October  6,  1879. 
Messrs.  Henry  W.  Bates,  Junius  A.  Talmadge,  and  Lyman 
M.  Smith, — Gentlemen: — Since  the  Bi-Centennial  Historical 
Sermon,  delivered  yesterday  in  the  First  Church,  is,  in  your  esti- 
mation, worthy  of  publication  in  a  permanent  form,  I  cheerfully 
place  it  at  your  disposal,  with  such  additions  as  seem  worthy  of 
preservation  with  it ;  but  which,  incorporated  into  it,  would  have 
made  it  too  long  for  delivery  at  a  single  Sabbath  service. 

Respectfully  Yours, 

John  H.  Lockwood. 


PEEFATOEY   NOTE. 


Many  difficulties  beset  the  preparation  of  such  a  sketch  as 
is  here  attempted.  The  task  has  been  not  simply  to  collect 
annals  of  the  old  church,  and  not  simply  to  prepare  an  address 
upon  it ;  but  it  includes  both,  and  more  besides.  As  it  would 
probably  become  a  document  of  some  historical  value  to  future 
generations,  it  was  important  to  include  in  it  many  interesting 
reminiscences  with  exact  dates,  and  as  it  was  to  be  delivered  on 
the  occasion  of  a  regular  church  service,  it  needed  to  be  restricted 
in  extent  and  partake  somewhat  of  the  character  of  a  sermon. 
Many  items  of  interest  to  antiquarians,  or  to  those  whose  families 
have  lived  here  for  many  generations,  and  many  others  that  are 
simply  amusing  and  curious,  were  therefore  excluded  as  outside 
the  scope  of  the  task.  Seme  of  them  are  accorded  a  place  iu  the 
Appendix,  which  I  would  be  glad  to  enlarge  indefinitely  were  it 
not  for  the  fear  that  it  might  thereby  make  too  voluminous  what 
is  intended  to  be  merely  a  brief  sketch,  and  not  an  exhaustive 
treatise.  It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  the  discourse  was 
prepared  with  the  Town  Bi-Centennial  volume  before  me,  in 
which  are  many  deeply  interesting  facts  relating  to  the  early 
days  of  the  town  and  the  church,  not  only  in  the  address,  but 
also  in  the  letters  from  former  residents  and  reminiscences  in  the 
appendix,  some  of  which  would  be  included  here  were  they  not 
preserved  there  in  permanent  form.     A  few  copies  of  that  inval- 


6  PREFATORY  NOTE. 

uable  volume  remain  unsold,  and  may  be  secured  at  the  news- 
room of  Mr.  W.  P.  Meacham. 

The  many  persons  who  have  kindly  proffered  assistance,  with- 
out which  this  task  would  have  been  utterly  hopeless  to  one  who 
has  been  a  resident  of  the  town  only  six  months,  will  please  ac- 
cept thanks  therefor.  Among  them  special  mention  should  be 
made  of  Mr.  Henry  Holland,  who  having  made  a  special  study 
of  local  antiquities,  has  been  of  great  service  in  determining 
sites  of  historic  interest,  and  in  giving  other  valuable  information  ; 
and  Mr.  David  M.  Chace,  the  Town  Clerk,  who  has  afforded  the 
fullest  facilities  for  examining  the  town  records. 

JOHN  H.  LOCKWOOD. 


SERMON. 


I.  Kings,  viii.,  57.— The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us  as  he  was 
with  our  fathers. 

This  year  marks  a  noteworthy  epoch  in  the  histoiy  of  our 
church.  Time  has  rolled  on  with  steady  flow  till  two  hundred 
years  have  passed  since  it  was  organized  by  a  handful  of  faithful 
disciples.  The  future  for  which  they  provided,  so  much  of  which 
is  now  past  with  its  checkered  record  of  human  experience,  was 
hidden  from  sight,  but  they  laid  foundations  in  faith  and  others 
have  builded  thereupon.  Taking  twenty  years  as  the  measure 
of  a  generation,  this  church  has  been  the  earthly  home  of  ten  gen- 
erations of  believers,  where  they  have  heard  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel ;  where  they  have  raised  to  the  throne  of  grace  praises  and 
supplications  ;  where  they  have  brought  sacrifices  of  themselves 
and  their  possessions.  In  this  new  world,  whose  remotest  history 
is  so  recent,  the  churches  that  have  passed  through  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  two  centuries  are  comparatively  few. 

Among  those  of  our  own  order,  which  are  naturally  the  oldest 
in  New  England,  there  are  forty-seven  that  exceed  this  church 
in  age,  of  which  one  is  in  York,  Me.,  organized  in  1672,  seven- 
teen are  in  Connecticut,  and  twent}T-nine  are  in  Massachusetts. 
Several  of  them  are  but  a  few  years  older,  and  there  are  several 
also  but  a  few  }Tears  younger.  No  surer  criterion  of  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  fathers  entered  into  possession  of  this  land  of 
Canaan  can  be  found  than  that  suggested  by  the  dates  of  the 
organization  of  the  first  churches  of  New  England.  In  recogni- 
tion of  their  Christian  heroism,  as  well  as  God's  long-continued 
blessing  upon  their  labors,  we  should  commemorate  this  remark- 
able anniversary.     The  formal  exercises  of  organization  occurred 


8  BI-CENTENNJAL     SERMON. 

August  27th,  1679  ;  and,  though  the  corresponding  date  of  this 
year  is  passed,  yet  for  the  sake  of  convenience  a  formal  observ- 
ance of  the  occasion  has  been  delayed  till  now. 

The  task  of  preparing  a  brief  and  interesting  sketch  of  the 
church's  history  is  beset  b}T  some  difficulties  besides  those  com- 
mon to  all  historians.  The  available  materials  are  very  limited  ; 
many  of  them  have  been  carefully  investigated  and  ably  displayed 
by  different  persons  within  a  few  years,  and  are  therefore  some- 
what familiar  to  most  of  those  who  are  interested  in  the  church ; 
and  in  a  stable  and  conservative  community  like  this,  local  tra- 
ditions are  carefully  perpetuated.  Families  that  have  lived  here 
for  many  generations  naturally  gather  up  facts  relating  to  their 
ancestors  for  their  own  gratification,  and  to.  impart  in  turn  to 
their  children.  Many  family  trees  planted  herein  the  early  days 
of  the  settlement  still  flourish  like  monarchs  of  the  forest.  But 
though  I  may  not  discover  in  the  records  of  the  past  many  facts 
unfamiliar  to  those  who  were  privileged  to  hear  the  carefully- 
prepared  sketch  of  the  town's  history  incorporated  into  the  ad- 
dress of  a  member  of  this  congregation,  Hon.  William  G.  Bates, 
delivered  ten  years  ago  when  its  bi-centennial  was  celebrated  ;  or 
to  those  who  listened  before  that  time  to  the  various  historical 
sermons  of  my  predecessor,  Rev.  Dr.  Emerson  Davis,  whose 
memory  is  still  so  sweetly  fragrant  wherever  he  was  known  ;  yet 
it  may  be  pleasant  even  to  them  to  be  stirred  up  by  way  of  re- 
membrance. Many  strangers  have  also  come  among  us  within 
the  last  decade,  and  many  children  have  matured  from  infancy  to 
capacity  to  understand  and  enjoy  stories  of  the  past.  While 
studying  all  original  sources  of  information  available,  I  shall  use, 
freely  and  gratefully,  the  results  of  those  who  have  preceded  me 
in  the  field  to  be  traversed  at  this  time,  hoping,  not  to  excel 
them,  but  only  to  follow  closely  in  their  footsteps,  and  perhaps  to 
beat  two  paths  into  one  that  may  be  more  easily  traversed  by 
others  who  shall  follow.  In  order  that  no  available  material 
might  be  lost  I  have  carefully  searched  anew  the  town  and  church 
records  from  the  beginning,  and  shall  quote  from  them  freely, 
believing  that  their  quaint  language  and  plain  statements  are 
more  interesting  than  the}-  would  be  if  clothed  in  modern1  dress, 
and  that  they  may  never  again  be  annotated.  It  has  been  so  in- 
teresting to  me  to  study  the  course  of  events  making  up  our 
church   history,  as  recorded  in  original  documents,  yellow  with 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON.  9 

•age  and  often  in  almost  illegible  chirography,  though  involving 
weeks  of  patient  study,  that  I  desire  to  share  the  pleasure,  as  far 
as  possible,  by  giving  you  a  literal  transcript  of  what  may  never 
fall  under  your  eyes  in  original  form.  The  task  in  hand  differs 
in  scope  from  that  of  Mr.  Bates  ;  in  extent  from  that  of  Dr.  Davis 
already  referred  to  ; — the  former  having  prepared  a  sketch  of  the 
town,  and  the  latter  in  various  published  documents,  of  which  I 
have  copies,  delineating  briefer  periods  ;  but  now  my  effort  is  to 
trace  the  history  and  affairs  of  this  church  for  two  centuries. 
This  attempt  includes  within  its  scope  matters  relating  to  the 
origin,  growth  and  changes  of  the  church,  and  facts  of  importance 
in  the  lives  of  its  officers  and  members.  Until  a  comparatively 
recent  period  the  church  has  been  so  fully  identified  with  the 
town  that  the  records  of  the  latter  contain  much  relating  to  the 
former, — all  the  secular  affairs  of  the  church  having  been  at- 
tended to  at  town  meetings,  as  part  of  their  prescribed  business, 
where  it  was  decided  even  to  call  every  minister  who  preceded 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Davis,  settled  in  1836. 

The  first  reference  in  the  town  records  to  ecclesiastical  affairs 
bears  date  of  March  19,  1666,  when  a  lot  of  twelve  acres  was  set 
apart  for  the  minister,  "  if  he  should  like  it ;  "  intimating  that  the 
act  was  done  in  anticipation  of  his  arrival.  According  to  the 
detailed  account  of  Mr.  Taylor  of  the  origin  of  this  church,  no 
one  came  to  occupy  the  land  till  a  little  later.     He  says  : 

"  Westfield,  then  Warronnokee,  coming  to  be  an  English  plan- 
tation, had  at  first  Mr.  John  Holyoake,  son  to  that  Godly  Capt. 
Elizur  Holyoake  of  Springfield,  to  dispense  ye  word  of  life  amongst 
them,  An0  Dmi,  1667,  about  half  a  year;  but  in  ye  beginning  of 
winter  following,  he  as  finding  ye  ministry  of  the  word  too  heavie 
for  him  desisted;  from  which  time  till  ye  beginning  of  winter 
1668  they  had  no  minister." 

In  August,  1668,  the  town  acted  as  follows,  after  deciding  to 
allow  a  minister  the  sum  of  £40  a  year,  to  be  derived  by  taxes 
on  the  lands  : 

"It  is  voted  that  we  look  at  ourselves  as  free  &  at  liberty  to 
seek  out  according  as  God  shall  guide  us  for  a  minister  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  Christ  here." 

Their  first  laborer  in  the  spiritual  vineyard  must  have  given 
satisfaction,  for  they  voted  "  that  George  Phelps  &  James 
Cornish  shall  go  to  Springfield  to  trade  with  Mr.  Hollyoke  & 


10  BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

receive  his  answer."  The  spirit  of  thrift  and  prudence  seems  by 
the  term  thus  used  to  have  pervaded  thus  early  even  church 
business.  Mr.  Holyoke  not  consenting,  it  was  voted  soon  after- 
ward "  that  Capt.  Cook  shall  go  into  the  Bay  to  procure  a  min- 
ister, such  a  one  as  he  shall  be  advised  to  by  the  elders  in  or 
about  the  bay  if  the  Committee  at  Springfield  do  approve  of  our 
acts  herein."  He  was  ordered  to  take  his  journey  "  so  soon  as 
to  be  in  the  bay  the  first  Sabbath  in  October,"  about  a  week 
later.  James  Cornish  was  to  go  the  next  day  to  Springfield  to 
consult  the  committee  under  whose  auspices  the  town  was  settled, 
"  &  to  speak  to  Capt.  Pynchon  &  desire  him  to  promote  the 
design  in  the  bay."  Proof  of  the  interest  taken  by  these  neigh- 
bors in  the  efforts  of  the  infant  colony  to  procure  a  minister  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the  next  month,  October,  1668,  a 
farther  grant  of  land  to  Westfield  was  made  on  condition  that  a 
minister  should  be  procured  within  two  years.  There  is  no  ac- 
count of  the  result  of  the  errand  to  the  Bay,  but  the  Rev.  Moses 
Fisk,  son  of  a  minister  of  the  church  at  Chelmsford,  was  gotten 
there,  probably  by  Capt.  Cook,  who  served  the  people  three 
years,  and  then  left  them.  They  then  tried  to  get  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Adams  of  Dedham,  and  "  finding  ye  said  Mr.  Adams  not  as  yet 
movable  from  ye  collidge,"  Mr.  Taylor  says : 

"  Their  messenger  was  advised  to  myself  (ye  meanest  of  those 
that  labour  in  Christ's  vineyard)  who  upon  advice  did  adventure 
to  go  with  him  home,  and  upon  ye  Lord's  day  following,  being 
ye  3d  of  ye  10m  A.n°  Dmi  1672,  preached  my  first  sermon  amongst 
them  from  Matt.  3  :  2, — '  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand.' " 

He  did  not  determine  for  some  time  to  stay  ;  but,  there  being  a 
prospect  of  organizing  a  church,  he  began  to  incline  to  settle 
with  the  people,  and  after  serving  them  two  }'ears,  he  says : 
"  We  set  up  conference  meetings  at  wch  I  went  over  all  the 
Heads  of  Divinity  unto  ye  means  of  ye  application  of  Redemption 
before  we  did  enter  the  church  state."  Their  plans  were  delayed 
by  the  desolations  and  distractions  of  King  Philip's  war,  which 
nearly  destroyed  the  settlements  at  this  end  of  the  province. 
Two  houses  and  barns  were  burned  here,  and  several  men  were 
killed.  The  terror  of  the  inhabitants  was  so  great  that  several 
moved  away,  among  them  four  of  the  nine  church  members  of 
the  place  ;  and  the  record   says  pathetically  :     "A  sore  tempta- 


BT-CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  11 

tion  was  thrust  in  upon  us  by  the  Adversary  that  seemed  to 
threaten  the  overthrow  of  all  proceedings  unto  a  chh  state  by 
those  by  whom  that  interest  was  before  most  apparently  de- 
volved." But  in  the  spring  of  1679  they  decided  to  call  a  coun- 
cil, to  convene  in  August.*  Five  years  before  this,  in  1674,  Mr. 
Taylor  married  Elizabeth  Fitch,  daughter  of  the  first  clergyman 
of  Norwich,  Ct.,  a  "  highly  educated  &  accomplished  lady." 
One  of  his  letters  preliminary  to  that  event,  copied  from  the 
original  among  the  archives  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Soci- 
et\r,  may  be  found  in  the  appendix  of  the  Town  Bi-Centennial 
volume.f  The  provision  for  his  support,  even  before  his  formal 
settlement,  seems  to  have  been  generous.  He  received  from  £60 
to  £80  in  those  early  years,  besides  large  tracts  of  land.  In  ad- 
dition to  which  the  town  voted  in  1678  : 

"  That  Lieut.  Mosely  &  Isaac  Phelps  they  are  to  take  care 
about  Mr.  Taylor's  hay  &  corn  in  hay  time  and  harvest  for  the 
gathering  of  it  in  and  the  town  are  to  spin  Mrs.  Taylor  a  day's 
work  apiece  in  haytime  &  harvest  &  they  are  to  have  a  day  or 
two  to  said  warning." 

The  account  of  the  Council  is  so  quaintly  and  strikingly  told 
that  I  shall  quote  Mr.  Taylor's  language  quite  extensively.  Five 
churches  were  invited  by  letters  missive.  He  proceeds  :  "  These 
then  being  sent  our  work  came  on  apace,  for  temptations  having 
attended  our  work  one  time  after  time  before,  I  for  my  part  was 
un hearted  until  now  to  prepare,  and  therefore  now  I  had  both 
hands  full  &  must  go  down  into  the  bay  before  the  time. 
Wherefore  having  often  in  private  sought  God  together  in  order 
unto  this  matter  now  upon  the  20th  da}r  of  August,  that  day 
fo'night  unto  the  day  of  assemblage  we  set  apart  for  a  fast  to  be 
kept  by  our  whole  town  in  order  to  ye  great  work  of  ye  day  of 
imbodying.  on  which  day  I  preached  from  that  1  Kin.  8 :  57 — 
'  ye  Lord  our  God  be  with  us  as  he  was  with  our  fathers  ; '  " — words 
I  have  myself  chosen  as  not  inappropriate  for  our  consideration 
to-day.  He  showed  from  it  that  parents,  when  about  to  erect 
God's  ordinances,  ought  to  pray  hard  to  God  to  be  with  them, 
and  adds :  "  And  as  for  the  duty  of  prayer  two  of  the  brethren 
did    help  carry  it  on."     In  those    early  times  it  seems  to  have 


*See  Appendix  A. 
|See  Appendix  C. 


12  BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

been  admissible  foi'  laymen  to  take  part  in  the  public  service,  at 
least  on  a  Fast  Day. 

Of  the  five  churches  invited  to  the  Council,  four  were  repre- 
sented. The  church  at  Norwich  did  not  respond  ;  that  at  Wind- 
sor sent  delegates,  its  pastor  being  detained  at  home  by  a  do- 
mestic emergency.  The  three  ministers  who  came  were  Rev. 
Poletiah  Glover  of  Springfield,  or  "Cousin  Glover,"  as  Mr. 
Taylor  calls  him  ;  with  whom  came  also  "  ye  worshipful  Maj. 
John  Pynchon,"  Rev.  John  Russel  of  Hadley,  and  the  Rev.  Solo- 
mon Stoddard  of  Northampton,  who  afterward  became  a  leader 
among  the  advocates  of  the  "  half-way  covenant."  The  membp.rs 
of  the  Council  arrived  on  the  evening  preceding  the  day  ap- 
pointed, and  began  at  once  to  examine  into  the  affairs  engaging 
them,  and  were  greatly  disturbed  by  discovering  two  serious  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  accomplishing  what  the  brethren  desired. 
One  was  that  Mr.  Taylor,  upon  whom,  as  the  candidate,  de- 
volved the  delivery  of  the  ordination  sermon,  proposed  to  preach 
in  the  afternoon,  instead  of  beginning  the  work  of  the  day  with  it. 
The  other  and  more  serious  one  was,  that  the  statement  of  doc- 
trine on  which  the  church  was  to  be  recognized  consisted  onl}r  of 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  and  the 
Cambridge  Platform,  which  the  Council  deemed  insufficient ;  this, 
however,  was  also  in  some  way  removed.  We  can  but  note  a 
contrast  between  the  prudence  of  that  time  and  the  laxity  of 
the  present,  when  churches  are  admitted  to  Congregational  fel- 
lowship simply  offering  the  Bible  to  be  interpreted  by  a  majority 
vote  of  its  members  at  any  time.  In  his  statement  before  the 
Council,  Mr.  Taylor  reviewed  the  history  of  the  enterprise,  pre- 
sented letters  of  dismissal  of  those  who  were  to  be  organized 
from  their  respective  churches,  and  a  formal  commission  to  the 
christian  people  of  Westfield  in  general,  and  seven  men  named 
in  particular,  to  enter  into  a  church  state,  signed  by  John 
Leverett,  Governor,  and  six  assistants.* 

I  cannot  forbear  quoting  at  some  length  Mr.  Taylor's  account 
of  the  concluding  transactions  of  that  ancient  Council : 

"  After  the  confession  of  our  faith  was  made  we  were  called 
out  to  give  some  account  of  the  workings  of  the  Spirit  upon  our 
hearts   that  might  be  as  a  foundation   for  the- charity  of  God's 


*See  Appendix  B. 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON".  13 

t  - 
people  to  act  upon  in  order  to  ye  approval  of  us  in  their  souls  as 
suitable  matter  for  such  a  structure  in  hand.  An  account  of 
which,  so  far  as  time  would  admit,  was  then  personally  given  in 
these  relations  (here  abbreviated)  following,  ye  which  had  at 
least  some  been  read  (and  doubtless  it  would  have  been  to  more 
edification)  had  not  ye  elders  and  messengers  of  Northampton 
and  Hadley  drove  on  to  ye  contrary." 

Then  follow  his  and  the  Relations  of  the  other  six,  written  out 
at  great  length,  being  extravagant  delineations  of  their  conver- 
sion and  subsequent  experience.     The   sermon  he   delivered  is 
copied  out  in   full,  making  twelve   pages    folio   of  microscopic 
writing,  which  must  have  required  at  least  three  hours  to  preach 
it.     This  was  before  the  days  of  sermonettes  fifteen  minutes  long, 
which    make    some   men    popular.        The  sermon  being  ended, 
"ye  Moderator  stood  up  &  gave  a  brief  account   of  what   was 
done  and  propounded  ye  brethren  to   ye  Elders  and  Messengers 
for   their    approbation   unto    their   proceeding    if  they   desired 
further  satisfaction  in  ye  matter  or  judged  anything  yet  further  to 
be  attended  to  in  this  case  before  the  covenant  was  entered  into, 
they  were  desired  to  manifest  the  same  ;  if  otherwise  let  their 
silence  manifest  it.     Whereupon  nothing  appearing  ye  Moderator 
called  us  forth  to  enter  covenant,  which  being  done  in  ye  words 
of  ye  covenant  by  and  by  recited  he  pronounced  us  a  church  of 
Christ  orderly  gathered  according  to  ye  rules  of  Christ  in  ye  gos- 
pell."     Mr.  Stoddard  gave  the   right  hand   of  fellowship  to  the 
church.     "  This  being  clone  the  Moderator  demanded  of  ye  church 
whom  they  chose  their  officer  and  into  what  office.     Whereupon 
ye  brethren  of  the  church  laid  my  unworthy  self  under  a  call  unto 
ye  office  of  Pastor  unto  them."     Rev.  Messrs.  Russel,  Glover  and 
Stoddard,  with  Samuel  Loomis,  one  of  the  brethren  of  the  church, 
laid    on    hands.     "  Mr.    Russel  prayed    before   ordination,   Mr. 
Glover  ordained,  and  Mr.  Stoddard  ended  the  work  with  prayer." 
The  church  covenant  into  which  the  original  seven  members  en- 
tered, is  long,  explicit,  and  solemn,  and  in  the  old  church  record 
book  is  signed  in  large  letters  by  Edward  Taylor,  John  Maudesly, 
Samuel  Loomis,  Josiah  Dewy,  John  Root,    Isaac  Phelps,   and 
John  Ingerson  (now  Ingersoll).     The  common  number  of  seven 
foundation-men  was  soon  increased  by  one,  as  we  learn  from  the 
following  explanation : 

"  Brother  Th  Gun  being   nominated  for  a  foundation  man  de- 


14  BI-CENTENTSTrAL    SERMON. 

sired  to  be  omitted  and  was  admitted  ye  21  ye  7  m  without  Rela- 
tion, in  that  he  was  so  much  decayed  by  age  that  it  would  be  a 
hard  thing  to  gather  it,  and  he  was  a  man  of  approved  piety  and 
was  recommended  to  us  by  Windsor  church." 

The  method  of  receiving  subsequent  members  was  to  consider 
them  in  conference  meeting,  then  propound  them  "in  ye  Assem- 
bly that  if  any  can  give  in  any  just  ground  against  their  Behaviour 
they  have  liberty."  They  were  then  voted  on  at  a  meeting  prepar- 
atory to  the  Lord's  Supper.  After  giving  "  an  account  of  some 
of  those  experiences  of  God's  work  upon  their  hearts,  ye  wh  if 
they  thro  fearfulness  and  bashfulness  do  desire  ye  same  may  be 
read,  ye  chh  complying  to  their  desires  therein  the  same  as  also 
it  is  on  ye  admitting  of  Women."  After  an  affirmative  vote  the 
following  covenant  was  read  : 

"  We  here  in  obedience  unto  Almighty  God,  in  Christ  receiving 
members  into  full  communion  in  this  chh  of  Christ  amongst  us 
and  admitting  you  unto  all  Gospell  privileges  therein,  according 
unto  yr  several  capacities  thereunto,  Do  promise  solemnly  in 
ye  presence  of  God  to  perforin  unto  you  as  unto  ourselves  all  those 
mutuall  Duties  of  helpfulness  unto  wch  we  have  mutuall}7  obliged 
ourselves,  and  do  pronounce  you  Members  of  this  chh  of  Christ 
orderly  admitted." 

The  infant  church  thus  constituted  had  no  other  officer  than 
the  pastor  for  many  years.  The  account  says:  "No  ruling 
elder  nor  Deacon  was  elected,  only  Brother  Loomis  was  de- 
sired to  look  after  the  preparing  wine  and  bread  and  to  furnish 
ye  Lord's  table."  He  was  afterward  elected  Deacon,  but  hesitat- 
ing about  accepting  the  office  and  waiting  for  the  election  of  a 
colleague,  he  died  without  being  ordained.  It  was  not  until  1692 
that  Josiah  Dewey  and  Nathanael  Weller  were  ordained  the  first 
of  a  long  line  of  holy  men  who  have  served  in  that  capacity  ;  so 
that  the  church  was  for  thirteen  years  in  that  anomalous  condi- 
tion, having  no  officer  but  the  pastor. 

Where  the  people  met  for  service  during  the  early  years  is  mat- 
ter of  conjecture,  as  no  record  that  I  can  find  refers  to  it.  The 
exact  time  of  the  erection  of  the  first  meeting-house  is  also  un- 
certain, the  votes  respecting  it  not  being  dated  in  the  town 
records  ;  but  it  was  probably  about  the  time  of  organization. 
The  first  vote  is  as  follows  : 


BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  15 

"That  the  town  will  go  on  with  building  a  meeting  house  with 
all  convenient  speed  as  may  be,  the  dimentions  are  as  follows  : 
About  36  feet  square  and  for  form  like  Hatfield  meeting  house, 
as  the  comitey  chosen  shall  advise  and  agree." 

The  next,  and  only  other  recorded  vote  respecting  it,  is  strange- 
ly muddled,  but  indicates  that  there  had  been  some  difficulty  re- 
garding the  site,  and  that  "  after  debating  in  the  town,  came  to 
vote  of  the  town  to  lott  that  the  friend  one  of  God  should  deter- 
mine it,  and  after  solemn  looking  of  God  the  lots  were  drawn 
the  lot  came  forth  for  the  place  before  goodman  Phelps  or  Good- 
man Gunns  if  Mr.  Taylor  se  cause."  The  town  voted  to  build 
"  gallereys  on  each  side  of  ye  meeting  house"  May  10th,  1703,  indi- 
cating that  the  congregation  was  too  large  for  the  building.  In 
those  primitive  times  strict  order  was  enforced  by  duly  consti- 
tuted authority,  as  is  indicated  by  a  town  vote  in  1689  : 

"  Walter  Lee,  Samuel  Fowler  and  the  Sergeant  of  the  guard 
are  appointed  to  take  care  of  children  on  the  Sabbath  to  see  that 
they  atend  and  keep  their  places  both  before  and  in  the  time  of 
exercise." 

As  the  town  increased  in  population  the  church  building,  even 
with  the  "  gallereys,"  became  too  small  to  accommodate  the  wor- 
shipers, and  in  1717  the  first  recorded  action  was  taken  respect- 
ing a  new  house  of  worship.  Twice  during  the  next  year  the 
subject  came  up  again  before  the  town  for  consideration,  and  No- 
vember 17,  1719,  "the  town  took  into  consideration  the  neces- 
sity that  we  are  in  to  put  ourselves  into  some  way  to  find  out  a 
place  to  set  and  to  build  a  new  meeting  house."  In  order  to  se- 
cure a  peaceable  settlement  of  difficulties  about  the  site,  they  de- 
cided to  leave  the  matter  to  arbitration,  and  a  committee  from 
Springfield  was  invited  to  decide  it,  consisting  of  Dea.  John 
Munn,  Lieut.  John  Merick  and  Benjamin  Lennard,  who  soon 
afterward  presented  a  characteristic  report:  "Gentlemen — 
seeing  God  in  his  providence  hath  called  us  according  to  your 
desire"  (an  instance  of  vox  populi,  vox  dei,)  "  to  consider  your 
surcomstances  and  where  may  be  yc  convenientest  place  for  you 
to  set  your  meeting  house  our  result  is  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Cap'n  Maudeslej's  lot  by  the  meadow  gate."  There  being  dis- 
satisfaction, however,  with  this  decision,  it  was  voted  to  leave 
the  matter  with  Cap'n  Samuel  Partridge,  and  abide  by  the  result 


16  BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

he  should  reach.     His  report  must  have  beeu  formal  and  explicit 
enough  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting : 

"  Whereas  the  town  of  Westfield  at  a  legal  town  meeting  on 
ye  21  day  of  this  instant  December  1719  past  an  act  in  said 
meeting  they  being  at  a  difficulty  in  concluding  the  place  to  set 
their  new  meeting  house  at  and  voated  to  leave  the  full  desition 
of  that  matter  unto  me  undersigned  upon  which  I  together  with 
Cap'n  John  Ashley  and  Lieutenant  Abijah  Dewey  went  up  to 
ye  place  of  the  cyder  press  their  standing  which  I  judged  too  fur 
toward  the  West  end  of  ye  town  for  conveniency  of  the  peoples 
meeting  at  ye  present  allso  I  vewed  ye  norwest  corner  of  Deacon 
Root  deseased  his  lot  I  judged  that  place  too  near  ye  dwelling 
houses  against  and  as  to  Mr  Gunns  paster  and  ye  lot  where  old 
John  Sacket  lived  too  much  to  the  South  end  of  the  town  and 
ye  old  meeting  house  much  more  I  allso  vewed  Cap'n  Maudesleys 
paster  on  ye  south  side  of  the  way  and  that  I  judge  will  be  too 
near  Cap'n  Roots  barn  therefore  having  maturely  vewed  the 
knowl  on  Cap'n  Maudesleys  lot  on  the  north  side  of  ye  way 
behind  his  housing  I  hereby  determine  to  bee  the  place  for  erect- 
ing and  setting  up  the  new  meeting  house  this  I  deliver  as  my 
positive  opinion  upon  the  premises.         Samuell  Partridge. " 

The  form  of  the  new  building  is  somewhat  more  fully  sug- 
gested than  that  of  the  old  one.  It  was  to  be  built  "  barn  fation 
with  a  bell  coney  upon  the  middle  of  it  fifty  two  foots  in  length 
and  forty  one  foots  in  breadth."*  It  was  probably  remembered 
by  many  aged  people  who  have  gone  to  rest  within  a  few  years, 
as  it  stood  until  the  early  part  of  this  century.  Mr.  Frederick 
Fowler,  now  living,  remembers  it  and  the  fire  that  destroyed  it. 
The  bell,  which  was  afterward  procured,  is  said  to  have  hung  at 
the  centre  of  the  roof,  and  to  have  been  rung  by  one  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  ground  floor.  It  was  purchased  in  1728  of 
Jacob  Windel,  in  Boston,  for  one  hundred  acres  of  land  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town.  Before  it  was  procured  the  people  were 
called  together  by  a  more  primitive  method,  as  is  indicated  by 
the  following  statement : 

"  The  selectmen  have  agreed  with  Nath.  Ponder  to  sweep  the 
meeting  house  the  year  ensuing  and  have  promised  him  thirty 
five  shillings  for  said  service,  and  with  John  Negro  to  beat 
ye  drum  on  the  Sabbath  days  and  others  as  ocation  may  serve, 
and  have  promised  him  twenty  three  shillings  for   said  service, 


*See  Appendix  D. 


BI-CENTENiXIAL     SERMON.  17 

and  the  first  drum  is  to  be  beat  against  the  Widow  Moseleys 
house  in  good  weather." 

It  is  uncertain  whether  or  not  we  are  to  infer  from  the  last 
clause  that  they  were  habitually  "  fair  weather  christians."  The 
building  was  paid  for  by  the  town,  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  assign  sittings  according  to  their  dignity,  those  near 
the  pulpit  being  considered  most  honorable,  a  custom  that  pre- 
vailed as  long  as  the  building  stood. 

The  arrangement  for  Mr.  Taylor's  support  was  always  liberal. 
His  salary  was  at  first  £50,  raised  in  1678  to  £70,  and  in  1686  to 
£80  ;  in  addition  to  which  he  had  a  generous  allowance  of  land 
both  in,  and  outside  of,  the  settlement.  The  people  seem  also 
to  have  been  considerate  of  his  wants  in  many  ways.  In  1692, 
whether  from  bad  crops  or  some  other  cause,  the  people  seem  to 
have  felt  poorer  than  usual,  for  they  voted  him  £80,  with  the 
desire  that  he  would  abate  £10  thereof.  The  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  is  iudicated  in  various  ways.  He  was  consulted  in 
all  matters  relating  to  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  the 
church  ;  as,  for  instance,  it  was  voted  to  consult  with  him  and 
see  whether  he  were  willing  that  some  timber  from  the  old  meet- 
ing-house should  be  used  in  the  new  one. 

Earlv  in  1722  he  began  to  show  signs  of  advancing  age,  being 
then  eighty-one  years  old  ;  and  Deacon  Noble*  and  Capt.  Ashley 
were  appointed  "  to  go  and  discourse  with"  him  concerning  the 
selection  of  a  colleague.  "  At  the  same  meeting  Dea.  Th.  Noble 
was  chosen  as  a  messenger  to  go  in  the  towns  behalf  to  give  Mr. 
Brown"  (of  New  Haven)  "' a  call,  and  also  voated  to  give  Th. 
Ashle}-  five  or  six  shillings  to  encourage  him  to  go  and  accom- 
pany Deacon  Noble  in  his  journey."  Mr.  Brown  did  not  come, 
and  the  following  year  Mr.  Isaac  Stiles,  who  had  been  teaching 
here,  received  and  declined  a  call.  He  was  Mr.  Taylor's  son-in- 
law,  and  his  son  afterward  became  President  of  Yale  College. 

This  must  have  been  a  rather  trying  time  for  the  people  in 
church  affairs  ; — their  minister  failing  in  health,  their  efforts  to 
secure  an  assistant  proving  unsuccessful,  and  their  new  house  of 
worship  being  uncompleted.  They  tried  for  several  months  to 
make  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Bull,  who  was  teaching  here, 
and  "  Nehemiah  Loomis,  John  Root  and  Jonathan  Ashley   were 


*See  Appendix  I. 


18  BI-CENTENNTIAL    SERMON. 

chosen  to  go  and  stir  up  the  meeting  house  comitey  to  see  that 
the  meeting  house  be  finished  speedily."  The  next  year,  1726, 
a  house  and  lot  were  provided  for  the  new  minister,  and  "  it  was 
voted  that  the  town  will  give  Mr.  Bull  £50  for  a  year  ensuing 
for  preaching  one  half  day  each  Sabbath,  and  to  rise  proportion- 
ally according  to  his  preaching  ;"  a  vote,  as  has  been  said,  of 
rather  doubtful  construction.  Finally,  in  May,  1726,  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  see  whether  Mr.  Taylor  "  would  lay  down 
preaching."  In  September  following,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  arrange  for  Mr.  Bull's  ordination  at  the  town's  charge. 
I  cannot  ascertain  whether  the  venerable  pastor  continued  to 
preach  occasionally  afterward,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  did  ;  for 
the  people,  among  whom  he  had  labored  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  would  have  been  glad  to  see  him  in  his .  accustomed 
place  and  hear  his  familiar  voice.  He  never  fully  recovered 
from  a  severe  fit  of  sickness  that  prostrated  him  a  few  years 
before  his  death,  which  occurred  June  24th,  1729,  in  his  eighty- 
seventh  year,  after  he  had  served  this  church,  before  and  after 
its  organization,  nearly  fifty-seven  years.  His  is  an  enviable 
record,  and  he  has  transmitted  to  a  large  number  of  descendants, 
some  of  whom  still  hold  land  here  that  he  owned,  his  unimpeach- 
able character.  There  is  said  to  have  never  been  a  scoundrel 
among  them.  Three  of  his  daughters  married  ministers.  Anna 
was  the  wife  of  the  Rev,  Benjamin  Lord,  D.  D.,  of  Norwich,  Ct. ; 
Naomi,  of  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Devotion  of  Suffield,  Ct. ;  and 
Keziah,  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Stiles  of  North  Haven,  Ct.  He  was 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery,  where  his  tombstone  may  still  be 
seen,  bearing  the  following  quaint  but  expressive  epitaph  : 

"  Here  rests  the  body  of  ye  Rev'd  Mr  Edward  Taylor  ye  aged, 
Venerable,  Learned  &  Pious  Pastor  of  ye  church  of  Christ  in  this 
town,  who  after  he  had  served  God  &  his  generation  faithfully 
for  many  years  fell  asleep  June  24  1729   in  ye  87  year  of  his 

age."* 

The  events  of  this  first  pastorate  have  been  thus  explicitly 
detailed  because  it  is  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  of 
the  church's  history.  They  were  days  of  anxiety  and  hardship, 
but  also  of  labors  cheerfully  undertaken  and  sacrifices  patient^ 
endured.     The  foundations  were  then  beinyr  laid  for  a  structure 


*See  Appendix  C. 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON.  19 

that  has  honored  the  Divine  Architect  and  its  human  builders. 
Had  those  early  settlers  proved  indifferent  to  the  interests  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  while  seeking  to  build  homes  and  establish  a 
town,  subsequent  generations  would  not  have  had  the  reason 
the}"  now  have  to  rise  up  and  call  them  blessed,  and  we  would 
not  have  had  such  a  record  of  successful  work  for  God  as  we  now 
review. 

As  has  been  intimated  already,  efforts  were  made  several  years 
before  Mr.  Taylor's  death  to  secure  a  colleague.  In  the  latter 
part  of  1724  the  church  sent  to  Mr.  Nehemialf  Bull,  who  had 
been  teaching  on  Long  Island,  to  serve  them  in  that  capacity. 
According  to  his  own  record  in  the  church  book,  he  first  preached 
here  on  the  17th  of  January,  1725,  from  the  text — I.Corinth- 
ians, viii.,  4 — "  For  there  is  none  other  God  but  one."  For  a 
year  and  a  half  he  assisted  Mr.  Taylor  and  taught  school.  Ne- 
gotiations with  him  having  been  finally  concluded,  he  was  or- 
dained October  26th,  1726,  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  years 
ago  this  month.  Six  churches  were  invited  to  take  part  in  the 
Council,  the  three  in  Springfield,  and  those  from  Hatfield, 
Enfield,  and  Suffield,  respectively. 

Mr.  Bull  has  left  a  detailed  account  of  the  exercises.  All  the 
ministers  and  delegates  came  on  the  evening  preceding  the  day 
appointed,  as  was  customary  in  those  times  of  primitive  methods 
of  traveling,  except  Mr.  Devotion  of  Suffield  : 

"  And  being  gathered  together  it  was  thought  by  them  a  good 
thing  to  do  what  business  they  could  that  night  y*  the}'  might 
not  be  hindered  next  day  and  thereupon  they  thought  convenient 
to  examine  into  what  opposition  there  was  (for  there  had  been 
as  the  ordination  drew  on  a  great  stir)  therefore  they  sent  for 
the  principal  man  who  was  so  confident  y'  he  could  have  a  great 
party  on  his  side  if  there  was  a  Town-meeting  if  the  elders  de- 
sired there  might  be  a  Town-meeting  next  morning  And  the 
Town  were  asked  if  they  desired  yl  Mr  Bull  should  be  ordained 
or  that  the  ordination  should  go  on  that  day  to  vote  for  it  and 
the  vote  was  so  clear  y*  ye  Rev.  Elders  judged  y*  the  barr  was 
clearly  taken  out  of  the  way,  wherefore  they  proceeded  to  sol- 
emnize that  affair  and  those  that  managed  the  work  were  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  &c  in  this  order  viz.  The  Rev.  Mr.  D.  Brewer 
began  the  solemnities  with  prayer,  the  Rev.  Mr.  W.  Williams 
preacht  and  then  they  proceeded  to  set  me  apart  by  laying  on 
of  hands  the  Rev.  Mr.  E.  Taylor,  Mr.  T.  Woodbridge  and  Mr. 
W.  Williams  laying  on  hands  and  then  the  Rev.  Mr.  T.  Wood- 


20  SI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

bridge  made  the  first  prayer  and  gave  charge  &  then  the  Rev. 
Mr.  W.  Williams  made  the  last  prayer  and  then  the  Rev.  Mr.  E. 
Devotion  did  that  which  stood  in  the  room  of  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship  and  they  were  done.  I  was  directed  to  name  a  Psalm 
to  be  sung  after  wh  I  was  (according  to  the  custom  in  these 
parts)  directed  to  bless  the  congregation  in  the  Father  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost  and  so  the  solemnities  were  finished." 

Soon  after  this  event,  and  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Ta}dor,  ev- 
idence is  given  in  the  church  record  that  the  beginnings  of  that 
movement  which  resulted  in  what  has  been  known  as  the  Half- 
Way  Covenant,  and  so  seriously  disturbed  the  churches  of  New 
England,  were  felt  here ;  and  Mr.  Bull  had  become  securely 
enough  established  to  take  the  lead  in  presenting  to  the  church 
the  following  questions  : 

"1.  Whether  such  persons  as  come  to  enter  into  full  com- 
munion may  not  be  left  at  their  liberty  as  to  the  giving  the  chh. 
an  account  of  the  work  of  saving  conversion  i.  e.,  whether  Rela- 
tions shall  not  be  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  indifferency,  and 
the  chh  desired  some  time  of  consideration,  so  the  matter  was 
deferred  till  the  next  Lord's  Day,  when  it  was  voted  in  the  affirm- 
ative. 2.  Whether  a  confession  of  faith  drawn  up  in  shorter  and 
more  general  terms  should  be  used  instead  of  the  Assembly's 
Catechism.  3.  Whether  all  Baptized  Persons  who  were  come  to 
years  of  understanding  and  were  capable  of  discipline  belonging 
to  this  congregation  should  be  lookt  upon  subjects  of  discipline, 
and  voted  in  the  affirmative.  4.  Whether  5  men  should  not  be 
chosen  by  the  chh  to  meet  and  consult  with  me  about  the  issuing 
cases  of  difficulty  upon  immergent  occasions,  this  voted  in  the 
affirmative." 

Thus,  in  1728,  we  have  the  first  mention  of  what  corresponds 
with  our  church  committee.  Fifty  years  later,  more  definite  action 
was  taken  to  secure  greater  efficiency  of  discipline.  The  new 
confession  of  faith  that  was  adopted  was  explicit  enough  as  a 
matter  of  intellectual  belief,  but  contains  no  reference  to  personal 
regeneration  ;  and  while  much  longer  than  it,  is  in  this  respect 
far  more  objectiouable  than  the  Half- Way  Covenant  of  the  First 
Church  of  Springfield.* 

During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Bull,  some  of  his  flock  became 
hostile  to  him,  and  carried  their  opposition  far  enough  to  threaten 
a  serious  breach  in  the  church.  The  town  passed  a  mild  vote  to 
the  effect  that  there  was  cause  of  grievance  against  him ;  but 


*See  Appendix  F. 


BI- CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  21 

what  it  was,  is  stated  neither  there  nor  in  the  church  record.  The 
latter  gives  an  extended  account  of  the  wise  and  christian  way 
in  which  the  difficulty  was  finally  settled.  He  met  the  people  in 
a  church  meeting,  that  continued  two  afternoons  and  nearly  a 
whole  night;  and,  after  friendly  conference,  they  arrived  at  "  an 
accommodation,"  and  voted  that  all  complaints  against  him 
should  be  dismissed.  This  was  not  entirely  satisfactoiy  to  the 
disaffected  ones,  who  shortly  afterward  raised  a  tumult  and  ab- 
sented themselves  from  the  sacrament.  Having  again  called  the 
church  together,  he  gave  a  quotation  from  "  Hooker  on  Church 
Discipline,"  to  the  effect  that  "  men  may  complain  of  yr  Elders  if 
yy  consider  'mselves  wrongd,  but  (says  he)  if  ye  complaint  prove 
unjust  and  unreasonable  be  it  at  ye  peril  of  him  that  complains, 
for  he  is  to  be  censurd  sharply  &  severely."  Mr.  Bull  then 
added  a  fearful  scriptural  example  :  "  We  all  know  how  dread- 
fully God  testified  his  anger  against  Corah  Dathan  &  Abiram 
for  complaining  &  murmuring  against  Moses  and  Aaron  & 
raising  a  tumult  against  them  without  any  sufficient  cause,  & 
there  is  great  Reason  why  a  due  testimony  shod  be  born  all 
groundless  Assaults  made  against  ye  ministers  of  Christ,  be- 
cause such  things  tend  to  wound  and  destroy  their  good  names, 
&c."  He  was,  perhaps,  somewhat  improvident ;  for  the  town 
record  shows  that,  though  his  salary  was  steadily  increased,  yet 
he  fell  into  financial  embarrassments,  as  indicated  by  the  fol- 
lowing action  :  "  November,  1735,  £150  voted  for  salary  ;  Febru- 
ary 5,  1736,  £125  voted  to  pay  his  debts."  In  1738  and  the  year 
following,  his  salary  was  £240.  His  pastorate  was  cut  short  by 
death,  April  14th,  1740,  in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and 
the  fourteenth  year  of  his  ministry.  His  family  afterward  moved 
to  Sheffield,  where  his  oldest  son  became  a  respected  physician.* 
Mr.  David  Parsons  preached  a  short  time  as  supply  ;  and  in 
August,  1740,  four  months  after  Mr.  Bull's  death,  the  Rev.  John 
Ballantine  was  called  to  fill  his  place.  The  provision  for  his  sup- 
port is  shown  by  the  record.  The  house  of  the  former  pastor 
was  to  be  bought  for  £700,  of  which  a  £500  interest  was  to  be 
offered  Mr.  Ballantine  to  encourage  him  to  settle. 

"  Also  voted  to  give  Mr.  John  Ballantine  £200  in    bills   of 
credit  of  the    old  tenor  or  £200  in  silver  money    at    28s  and 


*See  Appendix  E. 


22  BI-CENTENNlAL    SERMON. 

4d  per  ounce  as  the  bills  now  go  and  his  firewood  for  his 
sallary  from  }*car  to  year  annually  as  long  as  the  said  Mr.  Bal- 
lantine  carries  on  the  work  of  the  ministry  with  us." 

This  is  the  first  time  a  particular  sum  was  agreed  upon  for 
more  than  one  year.  Mr.  Ballantine  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and 
descended  from  Scotch  ancestors.  He  was  graduated  in  1735  at 
Harvard.  The  vote  to  call  him  to  this  church  was  passed  unani- 
mously, after  a  season  of  "  solemn  fasting  &  prayer,"  and  his 
letter  of  acceptance  shows  that  he  took  a  spiritual  view  of  the 
work  before  him,  and  was  deeply  impressed  by  its  responsibilities. 
The  Committee  selected  to  sign  the  letters  missive,  inviting 
neighboring  churches  to  the  Council  that  should  ordain  him,  con- 
sisted of  Deacon  John  Shepard,  Capt.  John  Gunne  and  Thomas 
Ingersole,  Esq.,  and  each  letter  contained  the  following  request : 
"  You  are  desired  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Lieut.  Ashley,  at  nine 
of  the  clock  in  the  morning."  The  Council  was  called  for  the 
17th  day  of  June,  1741  ;  and  before  that  time,  answers  having 
been  received  from  two  churches  in  Boston,  declining  their  invi- 
tations, four  churches  in  addition  to  those  originally  agreed  upon 
were  invited.  This  irregular  proceeding,  together  with  a  dif- 
ficulty in  regard  to  the  First  Church  of  Springfield,  came  very 
near  preventing  the  Council  from  performing  its  work.  Mr. 
Breck,  the  fourth  pastor  at  Springfield,  had  been  ordained  a  few 
years  before  in  the  face  of  opposition,  on  account  of  grave  sus- 
picions cherished  by  some  of  the  brethren  that  he  was  not  strictly 
orthodox,  and  some  of  the  ministry  would  not  consent  to  sit  in 
council  with  him  and  his  church.  The  Council  finally  consisted 
of  only  three  churches,  Sunderland,  Brimfield,  and  Springfield 
First.  Mr.  Breck  made  the  opening  prayer ;  Mr.  Rand  preached 
and  gave  the  charge  ;  Mr.  Bridgham  prayed  and  gave  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  ;  they  sang  the  one  hundredth  Psalm,  and 
were  dismissed  with  a  blessing. 

The  year  of  his  ordination  seems  to  have  been  a  very  pros- 
perous one  for  the  church,  sixty-nine  members  having  been  re- 
ceived on  confession  of  faith  ;  a  number  unequaled  in  any  previous 
year,  and  in  any  succeeding  one  until  1819,  when  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  were  received.  The  other  years  in  our  church 
history  made  memorable  on  account  of  large  accessions,  are  1842 
and  1843,  when  one  hundred  and  fifteen  were  added,  and  1850, 
when  the  additions  numbered  sixty. 


BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  23 

Mr.  Ballantine  seems  to  have  been  a  man  well  suited  to  his 
place  as  pastor  in  a  small  town,  keeping  track  of  all  matters  of 
interest  to  the  people,  and  exercising  a  kind  of  fatherly  super- 
vision over  their  affairs.  For  many  years  he  kept  a  journal,  in 
which  were  noted  the  results  of  his  observation  of  current  events 
relating  to  himself,  his  family,  the  church,  the  town,  and  the 
nation.  The  original  manuscripts  were  fortunately  discovered, 
after  moulding  in  some  obscure  corner  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  and  are  now  preserved,  with  other  old  documents  of 
local  interest,  in  that  useful  and  beneficent  local  institution,  the 
Atheneum.  Extracts  from  them  were  published  in  successive 
numbers  of  the  "  Westfield  Journal,"  in  1834,  which  show  not 
only  much  of  the  man's  character,  but  also  give  an  interesting 
view  of  town  life  in  those  remote  days.  They  are  well  worthy  of 
perusal  by  any  who  have  a  taste  for  local  antiquities.  As  they 
furnish  about  the  only  material  from  which  to  gain  an  idea  of  his 
life  and  ministry,  I  shall  make  such  selections  from  them  as  seem 
most  interesting  on  various  subjects.* 

During  his  ministry  the  church  suffered  much  annoyance  and 
perplexity  by  the  action  of  the  Separatists,  who  were  a  small 
body  that  withdrew  from  the  services  on  account  of  grievances 
occasioned  by  the  "  half-way-  covenant."  Some  of  them  seem  to 
have  been  sincere  reformers,  who  were  outraged  by  the  reception 
of  persons  who  did  not  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  regenera- 
tion, by  the  authority  granted  to  the  regular  ministry,  and  by  the 
method  of  taxing  all  citizens  for  the  support  of  the  church, 
whether  or  not  they  attended  its  services.  About  this  nucleus 
of  sincere  and  evangelical  protesters  against  abuses,  there  gath- 
ered many  others,  tinctured  with  all  sorts  of  wild  notions,  hold- 
ing divers  absurd  religious  views.  Mr.  Ballantine  was  firmly 
convinced  of  the  error  of  their  ways  ;  for,  though  the  church  char- 
itably decided  to  consider  such  of  their  number  as  joined  them 
simply  no  longer  members  of  the  church,  instead  of  formally  and 
publicly  excommunicating  them,  yet  he  considered  it  wrong  for 
the  faithful  ones  who  remained  to  run  after  them,  as  shown  by 
the  following  entry  : 

"  May  2nd,  1775.  A  query  was  proposed  by  a  member  of  the 
church  to  day  occasioned  by  one  of  our  members  attending  the 

*See  Appendix  G. 


24  BI-CENTENNJAL    SERMON". 

separate  meeting  last  Sabbath,  whether  it  was  not  disorderly  to 
attend  a  meeting  of  Separates.  It  was  observed  that  we  are  to 
mark  those  that  cause  divisions  and  avoid  them  and  that  since 
the  church  had  withdrawn  communion  from  the  preacher  it 
seemed  absurd  to  receive  one  as  a  teacher  whom  we  cannot  fel- 
lowship as  a  brother." 

Yet  he  was  extremely  liberal  toward  all  whom  he  considered 
true  christians.  Having  attended  a  meeting  at  Agawam,  where 
"  the  pedobaptists  &  anti-pedobaptists  brought  forward  terms  of 
coalescence  previously  prepared,"  he  says  : 

"  It  was  a  rare  instance  of  Catholicism.  I  was  well  pleased 
with  it.  It  appears  to  me  quite  reasonable  that  we  should  hold 
communion  with  those  with  whom  we  hope  to  live  in  heaven 
though  they  differ  with  us  in  some  non-essentials,  as  the  subjects 
&  mode  of  baptism.  All  true  christians  are  members  of  Christ ; 
if  one  of  the  members  of  our  body  should  be  imagined  by  us  to 
be  out  of  order,  or  should  be  really  so,  should  we  neglect  it,  or 
cast  it  away?  should  we  not  try  to  recover  it?  or  if  we  had  no 
hopes  of  that  we  should  make  ourselves  easy  with  it.  So  should 
christians  deal  with  each  other.  It  is  arrogance  in  any  man  to 
set  himself  up  as  the  standard  &  condemn  or  approve  others  ac- 
cording as  they  appear  when  measured  by  this  standard.  I  dis- 
claim infallibility  in  myself,  and  will  not  allow  it  in  others." 

He  was  either  in  advance  of  his  church  at  this  time  in  liberal- 
ity, or  else  they  backslid  from  the  high  ground  then  occupied  ; 
for,  in  1788,  twenty-seven  years  later,  they  refused  to  grant  the 
request  of  Anna  Phelps  for  a  letter  to  the  Baptist  Church. 

The  plainness  of  his  preaching,  and  his  patience  under  injuries, 
are  illustrated  by  the  following  entries  :  "  I  was  insulted  to-day 
by. a  principal  man  in  town  for  a  plain  sermon  delivered  last 
Sabbath  against  idleness.  May  none  of  these  things  move  me  ; 
may  I  not  be  left  to  render  reviling  for  reviling  ;  " — with  more  in 
the  same  strain. 

"  May  20th,  1762.  Married  David  Mosely.  I  asked  none  of 
the  guests  though  the  wedding  was  at  nry  house.  I  preferred  not 
to  do  much.  Esq.  Mosely  made  a  supper  and  judged  it  better  to 
invite  the  guests  himself.  May  24.  Some  pretend  that  we  not 
only  did  not  invite  them  but  hindered  their  being  invited  to  the 
wedding.  What  need  of  prudence  has  a  minister!  It  is  a  most 
seasonable  caution,  'Be  ye  wise  as  serpents  &  harmless  as 
doves.' " 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON.  25 

His  heart  was  pained  by  the  decline  of  religion  in  his  day, 
though  we  are  apt  to  think  the  old  times  were  so  much  better 
than  the  new.  When  English  recruits  started  to  attack  the 
French  in  Canada,  he  says:  "May  16,  1759.  The  men  who 
were  enlisted  marched  to-day.  There  used  to  be  a  sermon  or 
prayers  with  them,  but  nothing  of  the  nature  now  ;  as  if  they  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  vain  to  seek  God.''  His  anxiety 
must  have  diminished  soon  afterward,  for,  on  the  28th  of  the 
next  month,  he  notes:  "  Fast  throughout  the  Province  to  seek 
God's  blessing  on  the  expedition  against  Canada."  And  the 
public  spirit  of  the  day  was  sufficiently  virtuous  to  uphold  con- 
viction and  punishment  for  profanity;  for,  in  1760:  "James 
Wilson  sentenced  to  sit  in  the  stocks  for  profane  swearing  paid 
his  fine."  He  did  not  hesitate  to  reprove  popular  sins,  though 
lightly  considered  by  offenders :  "  In  consequence  of  finding  in 
the  contribution  box  the  other  day  a  pewter  dollar  and  some 
other  pewter  coins  I  preached  from  Acts  5:  1-11," — which  is 
the  account  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira. 

Some  of  his  comments  are  exceedingly  pithy  and  bright,  as 
note  the  following  :  "  Aug.  17,  1762.  Many  law  suits,  the  con- 
sequence of  extravagance,  imprudence,  idleness,  fraud  &  covet- 
ousness."  "  June  31, 1766.  Attended  the  funeral  of  Deliverance 
Hanchett,  aged  72.  She  was  never  married,  maintained  by  the 
town,  unhappy  in  her  temper,  provoking  in  her  language,  lived 
undesired,  &  died  unlamented."  This  is  perhaps  more  truthful 
than  many  epitaphs  of  the  time  ;  though  "  the  truth  is  not  always 
to  be  spoken." 

Mr.  Ballantine  must  have  been  able  to  perform  an  immense 
amount  of  work  ;  for,  on  a  day  when  detained  from  church  by 
sickness,  he  says :  "  Have  not  been  kept  away  but  one  day  and 
a  half  for  twenty  years."  The  Rev.  Mr.  Atwater,  his  successor, 
had  an  experience  almost  as  remarkable  in  this  respect.  In 
twenty  }-ears  he  was  prevented  from  preaching  one  Sunday  on 
account  of  illness,  and  two  Sunday's  because  of  lameness.  It 
was  not  then,  as  now,  necessaiy  for  ministers  to  spend  three 
months  of  the  year  in  Europe  to  recuperate  their  wasted  energies. 

During  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Ballantine's  term  of  service,  a 

long-continued  case  of  discipline  perplexed  the  church.     It  was 

finally  suggested  to  call  a  mutual  council,  but  each  party  wanted 

the  other  to  bear  its  expense.     Neither  yielding,  it  was  proposed 

4 


26  BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

that,  if  the  offending  brother  should  be  adjudged  guilty  by  the 
council,  he  should  pay  the  cost;  but,  if  he  should  be  acquitted, 
the  church  should  pay  it.  The  matter  was  finally  compromised 
by  each  agreeing  to  pay  one-half.  Seven  churches  met,  and 
spent  three  days  trying  to  effect  harmony  ;  but  their  work  was 
done  in  vain,  since  he  was  afterward  debarred  from  the  Lord's 
table. 

Mr.  Ballantine  died  February  12th,  1776,  aged  sixty,  after 
having  served  the  church  faithfully  for  thirty-five  years.  In  the 
"  Hampden  Pulpit,"  compiled  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Davis,  it  is  stated 
that  three  of  his  sons  received  a  collegiate  education  ;  that  one 
of  them,  Ebenezer,  became  a  physician,  and  was  the  father  of 
Rev.  Henry  Ballantine,  missionary  to  India,  and  Rev.  Elisha, 
Professor  iu  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia,  and  after- 
wards pastor  of  a  church  in  the  city  of  Washington.*  The  Rev. 
John  Ashley  was  called  after  Mr.  Ballantine's  death,  but  was  not 
settled. 

The  Rev.  Noah  Atwater  was  called  from  the  position  of  Tutor 
in  Yale  College,  (which  he  had  held  three  years,)  after  preach- 
ing here  as  a  supply;  and,  after  some  hesitancy,  accepted,  and 
was  ordained  November  21st,  1781.  He  was  a  student  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
graduated  from  Yale  College  with  the  first  honors  of  his  class  of 
1774.  After  a  pastorate  of  twenty  years,  he  died  quite  sud- 
denly, his  twentieth  anniversary  sermon  having  been  the  last  he 
ever  preached.  It  was  published  at  the  town  expense,  together 
with  •  his  funeral  sermon  delivered  by  Dr.  Lathrop,  who  was 
pastor  of  the  church  at  West  Springfield  sixty-five  years.  A 
copy  (probably  the  only  one  now  in  existence)  of  the  two  sermons 
has  been  kindly  loaned  me  for  perusal  by  his  grandson,  Mr. 
William  L.  Atwater,  of  New  York.  Dr.  Lathrop  gives  quite  an 
extensive  sketch  of  him.     He  says  : 

"He  was  blessed  with  superior  abilities,  a  clear  understand- 
ing, a  capacious  mind,  and  a  solid  judgement.  He  loved  good 
men  whatever  name  they  might  bear.  He  was  a  wise  and 
pacific  counsellor  in  the  churches  and  studied  the  things  which 
made  for  peace  among  his  own  people.  He  was  remarkably 
tender  of  character,  inclined  to  speak  well  of  all  when  he  could, 
and  cautious  not  to  speak  evil  of  any  but  when  he  ought.     His 


*See  Appendix  G. 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON.  27 

discourses  were  replete  with  sentiment,  composed  with  perspicu- 
ity &  adapted  to  the  promotion  of  godliness.  His  prayers 
were  solemn  and  devout,  and  his  delivery  was  grave  and  com- 
manding. Whatever  he  spoke  appeared  to  come  from  a  feeling 
heart  and  it  reached  the  heart  which  could  feel.  He  had  many 
friends  &  I  believe  no  enemies.  If  he  had  enemies,  either  they 
did  not  know  him  or  did  not  love  good  men.  There  were  none 
whom  he  treated  as  enemies  or  seemed  to  suspect  as  such.  In 
a  word  his  ministerial  life  was  a  useful  pattern  to  his  brethren, 
and  his  christian  life  was  an  instructive  copy  to  his  people." 

He  was  interested  in  practical  science,  kept  a  rain  gauge  and 
thermometer,  and  received  a  premium  for  an  essay  on  the  canker- 
worm. 

Did  time  permit,  I  would  be  glad  to  give  a  synopsis  of,  and 
extracts  from,  his  last  sermon  already  referred  to.  The  title 
page,  as  published,  reads  as  follows  :  "  A  sermon  on  the  preser- 
vation and  changes  of  human  life,  by  Rev.  Noah  Atwater  A.  M., 
late  Pastor  of  the  church  at  Westfield,  delivered  to  his  people  on 
the  22nd  of  November  1801  at  the  close  of  the  20th  year  of  his 
ministry  and  under  a  distressing  and  threatening  disorder  of 
body,  which  soon  after  terminated  his  life."  The  text  is  Acts 
xxvi.,  22  : — "  Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue 
unto  this  day."  The  same  words  from  which  Dr.  Davis  preached 
on  the  last  Sunday  of  his  life.  He  states  that  there  were  then  in 
the  town  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  souls,  and 
continues  :  "  When  I  was  ordained  the  number  of  communicants 
was  135.  Of  these,  two  thirds  are  gone  from  us ;  70,  more 
than  one  half,  are  dead,  and  20  have  removed  to  other  places  ; 
but  45  remain."  He  received  into  the  church  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  members.  During  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  he 
visited  every  family  in  town,  and  during  the  twentieth  he  almost 
repeated  the  task.  His  advice  to  his  oidy  son,  printed  with  the 
sermons,  shows  shrewd  observation  of  men  and  things,  great 
practical  wisdom,  sound  sense,  and  ardent  piety.  In  places  it  is 
not  unworthy  of  Polonius,  in  the  well-known  parting  advice  to 
Laertes.  I  cannot  forbear  giving  a  few  of  its  most  striking 
injunctions : 

"  Be  above  little  things  &  despise  them  wherever  they  ap- 
pear. Be  as  frugal  in  your  expenses  as  you  can  consistently 
with  a  decent  reputation.  Learn  the  art  of  being  esteemed 
manly  and  generous  by  spending  but  a  little.     Always  speak  and 


28  si-centennial  sermon. 

walk  and  act  naturally.  Be  always  wise,  kind,  mild,  and  conde- 
scending ;  and  yet  keep  at  a  proper  distance  from  all  improper 
intimacies." 

As  a  token  of  the  estimation  in  which  Mr.  Atwater  was  held, 
we  have  the  town's  action,  voting  that  his  family  should  have 
free  use  of  the  parsonage  and  ministry  land  for  one  year  after 
his  death,  and  that  a  printed  copy  of  his  last  sermon  should  be 
given  to  each  family  in  town. 

The  first  evidence  of  a  movement  to  secure  another  meeting- 
house appears  on  the  record  of  the  town  under  date  of  April  6th, 
1801,  when  a  committee  of  seventeen  was  chosen,  one  from  each 
school  district,  to  select  a  site  for  it.  As  on  previous  occasions, 
there  was  considerable  controversy  respecting  it.  Part  of  the 
people  even  thought  it  expedient  to  enlarge  the  building  then 
occupied  ;  an  idea  that  was  earnestly  supported  during  the  fol- 
lowing two  years,  till  the  edifice  was  burned  to  the  ground,  as  has 
always  been  supposed,  at  the  instigation  of  the  opposing  party  ; 
but,  though  the  town  offered  a  reward  of  S300  for  the  conviction 
of  the  incendiary,  he  was  never  discovered.  The  crowded  condi- 
tion of  the  old  building  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  while  it 
contained  thirty-three  pews  on  the  ground  floor,  most  of  which 
were  six  feet  square,  capable  of  seating  fifteen  persons  each,  or 
altogether  four  hundred  and  ninety-five,  the  last  official  seating 
provided  for  six  hundred  and  fifty  adults,  many  of  whom  were 
heads  of  families.  The  report  of  the  seating  committee  of  that 
year,  the  original  of  which  is  preserved  at  the  Atheneum,  con- 
cludes as  follows  : 

"  Your  Committee  would  farther  observe,  that  the}'  find  it  im- 
possible to  accommodate  the  inhabitants  with  seats  in  the  Pews 
of  the  House  should  they  all  attend  meeting  they  would  there- 
fore recommend  that  precedence  or  priority  cannot,  nor  ought 
not  to  take  place,  by  reason  of  any  one  being  named  or  read  off 
as  first  in  any  Pew,  but  that  all  have  equal  right  to  a  seat  in  the 
Pews  to  which  they  are  assigu'd  indiscriminately,  &  that  a  Spirit 
of  accommodation  only  can  alleviate  the  embarrassment  &  be  a 
substitute  for  our  present  cram'd  situation  &  condition. 

William  Shephard,  per  order." 

The  new  meeting-house  was  located,  after  considerable  discus- 
sion, where  the  present  building  stands,  on  ground  bought  by  the 
town  for  $236.     Most  of  the  pews  were  sold  in  advance,  thereby 


BI- CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  29 

realizing  the  sum  of  S6,019  as  a  building  fund,  with  which,  in  con- 
sideration of  a  right  to  fifteen  pews,  the  town  agreed  to  finish  it 
and  keep  it  in  repair.  It  was  decided  by  town  vote  to  have  two 
flights  of  stairs  leading  up  to  the  pulpit,  and  subsequently,  that 
they  should  be  winding,  in  case  any  one  could  be  found  who 
would  pay  the  difference  in  cost  between  that  and  the  straight 
form.  Some  people  afterward  brought  into  town-meeting  a 
grievance  based  on  the  needless  sacrifice  of  space  and  obstruc- 
tion to  view  of  the  double  flight.  An  ornamental  pillar  from  the 
front  of  the  old  pulpit  is  on  exhibition  here  to-day.  The  pew 
next  the  pulpit  stairs  was  assigned  to  the  use  of  the  minister  for- 
ever. The  building  was  dedicated  January  1st,  1806,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Knapp  preaching  the  sermon  ;  and  it  was  used  nearly  fifty- 
five  years,  then  sold  for  $1000,  and  moved  back,  where  it  still 
stands,  to  make  way  for  the  present  structure.  During  the  time 
of  its  use  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  members 
were  received  into  the  church,  while  during  the  previous  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  years  the  number  reached  only  nine 
hundred  and  fifty-seven. 

The  first  mention  of  special  sacramental  utensils  for  use  of  the 
church,  is  a  statement  in  its  record,  that  "  about  the  year  1785, 
Mr.  Joshua  Green  of  Boston  made  a  present  to  the  church  of  a 
Bason  to  be  used  at  Baptism  and  the  church  voted  their  thanks 
to  him  for  his  kindness."  Mr.  Atwater  afterward  left  $20  by 
will  to  furnish  the  table,  and  the  church  voted  to  raise  an  equal 
sum  by  subscription ;  but  the  Hon.  Samuel  Fowler  rendered  that 
effort  unnecessary  b}T  a  gift,  indicated  in  an  accompanying  note 
as  follows  :  "  I  with  pleasure  herewith  present  to  the  church  in 
this  town  two  silver  plated  Flagons  (the  first  cost  in  London 
being  forty-five  dollars)  which  I  hope  will  be  acceptable  to  the 
church."  These  were  received  with  thanks,  and  his  name  was 
engraven  on  them,  with  the  date  of  presentation.  They  are  here 
for  inspection  to-day.  In  1824,  the  church  received  by  will  from 
the  same  generous  donor,  two  more  flagons  and  a  baptismal 
basin,  the  former  of  which  are  still  in  use  at  communion  seasons. 
After  the  erection  of  the  marble  font  by  an  unknown  friend  some 
years  ago,  the  basin  was  presented  to  Plymouth  Congregational 
Church  of  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Knapp  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  this 
church  November  16th,  1803.     He  was  a  graduate  of  Williams 


30  BI-CEtfTENNIAL    SERMON. 

College  in  the  class  of  1800,  and  served  there  two  years  as  Tutor 
before  settling  here.  He  died  in  1847,  in  the  seventy-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  forty- fourth  year  of  his  pastorate. 
After  1835,  because  of  failing  health,  he  was  able  to  preach  but 
little,  and  was  assisted  by  a  colleague. 

Though  distinctly  remembered  by  many  now  living,  little  doc- 
umentary material  available  for  a  biographical  sketch  remains. 
Dr.  Davis,  in  the  "  Hampden  Pulpit,"  characterizes  him  as 
"  a  man  of  uncommon  prudence,  of  great  kindness  of  disposition, 
conservative,  sound  in  faith,  and  who  lived  agreeable  to  his  pro- 
fession." He  was  exceedingly  affable,  scrupulous  for  the  finer 
points  of  etiquette,  courtly  in  his  manners.  He  is  said  to  have 
bowed  always  three  times  on  meeting  an  acquaintance.  His  pas- 
torate was  marked  by  peace  and  harmony  among  his  own  people, 
and  he  was  ever  ready  to  afford  wise  counsel  for  the  settlement 
of  any  disputes  brought  to  him  for  arbitration.  Mr.  Bates,  in 
the  town  bi-centennial  address,  says :  "  He  knew  the  wants  of 
his  people ;  he  appreciated  the  interests  of  the  community  ;  and 
few  men  were  more  ready  to  afford  more  valuable  suggestions." 

During  the  latter  years  of  Mr.  Knapp's  active  service,  two 
trifling  innovations,  one  in  the  service  of  the  church,  the  other  re- 
lating to  the  comfort  of  the  worshipers,  disturbed  some  of  the 
people.  About  1820  small  sums  began  to  be  paid  for  sacred 
music  ;  and  in  1824  the  town  voted  $75  for  sacred  music,  "to  be 
assessed  on  Mr.  Knapp's  salary."  If  this  means,  as  it  seems 
to,  that  it  was  to  be  deducted  therefrom,  it  must  have  been  an 
expensive  luxury  for  him,  however  the  people  may  have  enjoyed 
it,  since  his  salary  was  only  a  little  above  $400,  although  larger 
than  when  first  settled.  The  people  had  become  so  accustomed 
to  long  pastorates  that,  when  he  came,  they  "  voted  to  add  £i5 
to  £100  voted  as  salary  to  Mr.  Knapp,  to  commence  five  years 
from  ordination."  The  other  innovation  was  in  heating  the  meet- 
ing-house. In  December,  1823,  the  matter  was  brought  up  in 
town-meeting,  when  it  was  decided  not  to  procure  stoves  and 
window-blinds,  but  a  committee  was  appoidted  to  ascertain  the 
cost  of  the  former.  For  four  winters  more  the  people  shivered 
through  the  services  ;  but  in  December,  1827,  it  was  voted,  "  that 
the  selectmen  procure  at  the  expense  of  the  Congregational 
Society  of  this  town,  two  stoves  together  with  the  pipes  not  to 
exceed  in  amount  $80." 


BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  31 

Here  I  would  gladly  conclude  this  discourse,  and  resume  it  at 
another  time,  in  order  to  have  a  better  opportunity  than  is  now 
afforded  to  do  justice  to  the  life-work  among  you  of  the  Rev. 
Emerson  Davis,  D.  D.  My  only  consolation  is  in  the  fact  that 
the  memories  of  so  many  of  you  are  well  stored  with  facts  re- 
specting him,  tenderly  and  gratefully  cherished.  No  one  can 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  present  life  of  this  church 
and  this  town  without  recognizing  the  broad  and  deep  results  of 
his  long  and  faithful  ministry.  His  life  here  was  the  out- 
working of  a  principle  which  he  selected  as  the  subject  of  his 
valedictory  oration  on  graduating  from  college  :  aTo  be  useful, 
the  duty  and  happiness  of  man."  His  was  a  useful  life  in  the 
broadest  sense,  bringing  to  bear  upon  this  community  at  so 
many  points  an  elevating  and  impulsive  force,  which  is  still  in 
operation.  In  the  spheres  of  education,  morals  and  religion,  he 
was  ever  zealous  and  efficient ;  and  in  each  of  them  this  town 
owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude,  which  demands  that  many  genera- 
tions yet  to  appear  should  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed. 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  satisfaction  to  all  who  knew  him  and 
have  learned  to  honor  him,  that  she,  who  was  such  a  worthy  help- 
meet for  him,  is  with  us  to-day. 

Dr.  Davis  was  born  in  Ware,  July  15th,  1798,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  Williams  College  in  1821.  After  having  been  Precep- 
tor of  the  Westfield  Academy  for  fourteen  years,  he  was  ordained 
as  colleague  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Knapp.  His  theological  training 
was  received  under  Dr.  Griffin,  President  of  Williams,  with  the 
interests  of  which  institution  he  was  closely  identified,  serving  as 
Tutor  one  year,  as  Trustee  thirty-three  years,  and  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent seven  years. 

His  pastorate  here  was  eminently  successful  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  term.  From  its  commencement,  June  1st,  1836,  to  its  close, 
the  church  had  reason  to  thank  God  for  it.  During  its  earlier 
years  it  was  marked  by  special  religious  interest ;  for  many  years 
there  were  additions  to  the  church  at  every  communion  season, 
and  no  year  of  the  long  period  passed,  that  was  not  marked  by 
accessions. 

The  thirtieth  anniversary  of  his  settlement,  on  which  he 
preached  a  sermon  reviewing  his  ministry,  was  his  last  Sunday 
on  earth.  The  following  Friday,  June  8th,  1866,  sickness  sud- 
suddenly  attacked  him  at  teachers'  meeting,  and  he  died  within 


32  BI- CENTENNIAL    SERMON. 

a  short  time.     President  Hopkins  says  of  him   in   his   funeral 
sermon : 

"  His  qualities  of  mind  were  not  brilliant ;  but  he  was  consci- 
entious, industrious,  punctual,  judicious,  kind,  faithful ;  and 
through  these  qualities,  he  gradually  won  the  confidence  and 
affections  of  the  whole  community,  as  well  as  the  devoted  love 
and  reverence  of  his  people.  *  *  *  He  came  up  in  his  in- 
fluence imperceptibly,  as  one  of  your  grand  elms.  No  man  per- 
ceived the  moment  of  its  increase  ;  but  at  length  it  stood  with  its 
top  in  the  heavens,  and  with  its  branches  wide  spread  for  beauty 
and  for  shade." 

The  only  colony  formally  organized  from  this  church  is  that 
which  was  started  in  1856.  A.  little  band  of  sixty-three  persons 
left  their  old  home,  bearing  a  parent's  blessing,  and  were  organ- 
ized into  a  church  by  a  council  that  convened  May  22d  of  that 
year.  They  soon  afterward  erected  the  commodious  and  hand- 
some building  in  which  they  still  worship,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$25,000  ;  to  which  a  convenient  chapel  has  since  been  added. 
The  child  has  grown  to  vigorous  and  stalwart  maturity,  and  now 
stands  and  works  side  by  side  with  the  parent.  Organized  in  a 
true  missionary  spirit  to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  town,  the 
Second  Church  has  always  lived  on  terms  of  the  utmost  harmony 
with  those  in  the  old  household  ;  the  utmost  kindness  and  affec- 
tion mark  all  their  relations  with  each  other,  and  they  cordially 
unite  to  carry  on  the  common  work  of  the  Lord.  After  having 
been  served  one  year  by  the  Rev.  Francis  Homes,  the  church 
settled  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Bingham  as  its  first  pastor  in  1857,  who 
was  followed,  after  six  years  of  labor,  by  the  Rev.  George 
Bowler.  He  was  succeeded  in  June,  1866,  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Hopkins,  whose  able  and  faithful  service  has  been  rendered  ever 
since  with  a  tenderness  and  kindness  of  heart  that  have  won  for 
him  affectionate  and  grateful  friends  throughout  the  community. 
It  is  hoped  that  he  will  so  far  imbibe  the  spirit  of  the  old  church 
as  to  follow  the  example  of  her  long  line  of  ministers  who  con- 
sidered their  settlement  a  life  tenure. 

The  house  of  worship  which  the  young  organization  soon 
erected,  incited  the  people  of  the  old  society  to  build  this  struct- 
ure, at  an  expense  of  about  $25,000.  It  was  dedicated  in  1860, 
and,  I  understand,  is  practically  free  from  indebtedness. 

The  Rev.  E.  II.  Richardson  succeeded  Dr.  Davis  in  the  pas- 


BI-CENTENNIAL    SERMON.  33 

torate  after  a  year  had  intervened,  and  was  installed  May  1st, 
1867,  coming  here  from  Providence,  R.  I.  He  accepted  a  call  to 
Hartford,  Ct.,  in  1872,  and  is  now  in  New  Britain,  of  that  state. 

He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Tits  worth,  called  from  the 
Seminary  in  1873,  who  resigned  in  1878,  to  accept  the  pastorate 
of  the  First  Church  at  Chelsea. 

The  departure  of  these  two  respected  and  beloved  pastors, 
who  had  labored  earnestly  and  efficiently,  after  five  years  of  ser- 
vice, occasioned  the  people  great  grief  and  disappointment ;  and 
the  expressions  of  mutual  regret  and  regard  that  were  called  forth 
b}'  the  separation,  show  that  both  they  and  the  people  suffered 
from  it. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  these  days  of  short  pastorates  and 
unsettled  supplies,  that  the  first  six  pastors  of  this  church  be- 
gan and  ended  their  ministerial  work  here,  and  were  laid  to  rest 
by  their  grateful  and  loving  people.  Their  average  term  of  ser- 
vice is  thirty-two  years. 

Your  present  pastor  was  called  from  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  in- 
stalled May  14th  of  the  current  year,  beginning  the  third  century 
of  the  church's  history  as  its  ninth  pastor. 

The  church  has  been  served  by  thirty  deacons,  among  whom 
are  four  Deweys,  three  Fowlers,  three  Roots,  two  Ashleys,  three 
Shepards,  two  Searles,  and  two  Smiths. 

Gen.  William  Shepard,  who  has  secured  an  honored  place  in 
history  through  his  heroic  services  in  the  French  and  Indian  and 
Revolutionary  wars,  a  friend  of  Washington  and  Lafayette,  after 
laying  aside  his  sword,  was  chosen  to  the  office  in  1789,  and 
served  twenty-eight  years,  till  his  death  in  18 17,  aged  eighty. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  ever  connected  with 
this  church.  A  copy  of  the  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral  by 
Mr.  Knapp,  is  carefully  preserved  by  his  great-granddaughter, 
one  of  our  members,  and  an  extended  sketch  of  his  character  and 
career  is  given  in  the  town  bi-centennial  address. 

The  whole  number  of  members  who  have  been  connected  with 
this  church  from  its  foundation  till  now,  if  my  count  of  their 
names  on  the  church  record  be  correct,  is  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy- six,  received  as  follows:  By  Mr.  Taylor,  two 
hundred  and  thirty-one  ;  by  Mr.  Bull,  two  hundred  and  twenty  ; 
by  Mr.  Ballantine,  four  hundred  and  twenty-two ;  by  Mr. 
Atwater,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one ;  by  Mr.  Knapp,  six  hun- 


34  BI-CENTENNTAL    SERMON. 

dred  and  seventy  ;  by  Dr.  Davis,  six  hundred  and  fifty-one  ;  by 
Mr.  Richardson,  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  ;  by  Mr.  Titsworth, 
one  hundred  and  eight ;  by  others,  fourteen.  They  would  make 
a  vast  company  could  all  be  gathered  together. 

The  early  history  of  the  Sunday-school  is  not  preserved  in  any 
existing  records  ;  but  at  least  two  of  the  scholars  first  collected 
still  live  among  us,  Mrs.  Samuel  Horton  and  Mrs.  Frederick 
Fowler.  The  latter  remembers  quite  clearly  her  experience  in 
that  capacity,  and  has  in  possession  an  "  Evangelical  Primer," 
containing  several  catechisms,  given  her  for  good  behavior,  and 
a  book  of  quaint  hymns  for  children.  Both  these,  with  the  Bible, 
were  studied  by  the  scholars.  The  school  is  supposed  to  have 
been  organized  in  the  spring  of  1817,  and  met  in  the  old  Acad- 
emy Hall  for  several  years.  An  invitation  to  act  as  teachers, 
addressed  to  Mr.  Zabina  Fowler,  afterward  a  deacon,  and  Miss 
Nancy,  his  sister,  signed  by  six  directors,  is  still  preserved  by 
one  of  our  people.  Mrs.  Fowler  remembers  a  visit  to  the  school 
of  Dr.  Osgood,  of  Springfield,  who  spoke  of  the  work  of  Robert 
Raikes  in  England.  The  superintendents,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
have  consisted  of  the  following  brethren,  in  about  the  order  in 
which  they  are  here  given  :  Deacons  Stearns  and  Stowe,  Mr. 
Chapman,  Deacons  Chadwick  and  Smith,  Dr.  Goodrich,  Mr. 
Greenongh,  Rev.  Mr.  Titsworth,  Mr.  Todd,  and  Deacon  Frank 
P.  Searle,  the  present  incumbent. 

It  will  doubtless  be  interesting  to  know  what  are  the  localities 
of  historic  interest  to  this  church,  and  they  should  be  kept  clearly 
in  memory.  The  -first  meeting-house  stood  a  few  rods  northwest 
of  the  west  end  of  the  iron  bridge  that  now  crosses  Little  River, 
on  land  afterward  used  for  the  town  pound,  and  now  owned  by 
Mr.  William  Todd.  The  second  building  stood  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Meadow  streets,  in  what  is  now  Mr.  George  H.  Mosley's 
garden.  The  road,  now  Meadow  street,  forked,  and  ran  on  the 
east  and  west  side  of  it.  The  third  house  occupied  the  site  of 
the  building  we  are  in,  which  is  the  fourth  provided  by  the 
church.  Mr.  Taylor  lived  not  far  from  his  meeting-house,  on  a 
road  running  north,  a  short  distance  west  of  it,  and  died  in  his 
son's  house,  an  old  red  one,  that  stood  till  a  few  years  ago  on 
the  corner  made  by  the  road  just  mentioned  and  Main  street. 
Mr.  Bull  and  Mr.  Ballantine  lived  on  the  south  side  of  Main 
street,  on  land  running  west  from  the  corner  of  what  is  now 


BI-CENTENNIAL     SERMON.  35 

Cross  street,  on  land  since  owned  by  the  late  Mr.  Caleb  Fowler, 
whose  first  wife  was  Mr.  Ballantine's  granddaughter.  Mr. 
Atwater's  house  was  just  west  of  where  the  Atheneum  now 
stands.  Mr.  Knapp's  house,  since  moved  to  another  site,  stood 
just  west  of  Mr.  E.  R.  Van  Deusen's  house  on  Franklin  street. 
Dr.  Davis  lived  on  Elm  street,  just  north  of  Arnold,  about  where 
Loomis's  hardware  store  now  stands.  The  First  and  Second 
Churches  each  built  a  commodious  and  comfortable  parsonage 
several  years  since.  The  first  four  pastors  were  buried  in  the  old 
burying-ground,  and  Mr.  Knapp  and  Dr.  Davis  in  the  Pine  Hill 
cemetery.  A  tablet  was  placed  in  the  church  in  memory  of  Mr. 
Taylor  by  Homer  and  Henry  T.  Morgan,  of  New  York,  two  of 
his  descendants,  and  one  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Davis  was  placed 
here  by  his  people. 

The  support  of  the  ministry  of  this  church  has  been  partly 
provided  for  by  sundry  gifts  to  a  ministerial  fund,  amounting 
now  to  about  $6,500  in  the  hands  of  trustees.*  It  has  been  de- 
rived in  part  by  sale  of  the  ministry  land,  and  in  part  by  legacies  ; 
the  first  of  which,  in  the  church  books,  is  that  of  Samuel  Root, 
probably  a  son  of  the  third  deacon  of  the  church.  His  will  was 
drawn  in  1711. 

Many  other  details  of  historic  interest  might  be  added  to  this 
sketch  did  time  permit,  but  your  patience  was  long  since  over- 
taxed. 

Two  hundred  years  of  the  church's  life  are  gone  beyond  our 
power  to  recall  or  influence  them.  The  lessons  learned  by  re- 
viewing them  are  to  be  applied  to  present  duties,  through  whose 
performance  the  future  may  be  affected.  With  devout  gratitude 
for  God's  mercies,  so  bountifully  vouchsafed  during  all  these 
years,  let  us  determine  to  be  more  faithful  in  requiting  them  ;  and 
in  glad  recognition  of  the  christian  usefulness  of  generations  that 
have  been  gathered  to  their  fathers,  let  us  follow  in  their  steps, 
as  they  have  followed  Christ ;  ever  lifting  heavenward,  from 
zealous  hearts,  loyal  to  Him  and  loyal  to  this  our  beloved  church, 
the  prayer  suggesting  that  Fast  Day  sermon  two  hundred  }rears 
ago  :     "  The  Lord  be  with  us  as  He  was  with  our  Fathers." 


*See  Appendix  H. 


Appendix. 


The  copy  of  the  letter  missive,  inviting  the  five  churches  of 
Norwich,  Windsor,  Springfield,  Northampton  and  Hadley  to 
the  council  that  organized  the  church  here,  is  partly  illegible, 
through  the  ravages  of  time.  As  an  interesting  historical  docu- 
ment, it  is  herewith  given  as  fully  as  possible : 

"  Honrd  &  Revnd  Sr :  together  with  ye  Much  Respected  chh  of 
Christ  at  Norwich  in  which  you  serve. 

After  ye  manifold  Temptations  &  experienced  Difficulties  of 
one  nature  &  another  that  we  ye  Professed  servants  of  Christ  in 
this  place  have  met  withall,  &  been  delaj^ed  thereb}',  with  respect 
unto  ye  Interest  of  Christ  in  a  Gospell  instituted  Order  :  it  hath 
graciously  pleased  ye  Divine  Omnipresent  Preserver,  ye  father  of 
Spirits  &  ye  God  of  all  Mercy  in  Christ,  so  far  to  shine  forth 
upon  us,  as  to  lead  us  by  ye  hand,  so,  through  ye  same  as  to 
bring  us  to  a  conclusion  among  o'selves  to  fix  upon  ye  last  fourth 
day  of  ye  sixth  month  next  ensuing,  for  ye  mauagem11'  of  that 
solemn  &  holy  work  of  entrance  into  a  city  fframe,  a  chh  Insti- 
tuted State.  And  thereupon  in  sense  of  our  own  Insuffisionsie  for 
it,  need  of  Advice,  Directions  &  Assistance,  as  also  ye  Right 
Hand  of  Fellowship  in,  &  about  ye  same  :  as  also  considering 
ye  Result  of  civill  Authority  in  this  matter,  y'  it  behooveth  us  as 
or  Master  to  fulfill  all  Righteousness  :  &  also  the  custom  of  the 
chh  of  Christ  (wch  in  all  commendable  things  is  greatly  to  be  ad- 
hered unto)  harmonizing  herein,  we  have  fixt  on  certain  churches 
to  request  them  to  allow  unto  us  their  Aide,  Help  &  ffellowship 
in  this  business  *  *  *  *  also  desire  that  you  would  accept 
of  such  a  burden  of  Christ  in  ye  Gospell  put  upon  you  by  us  in 
this  desire,  as  y'  you  would  send  yr  Revnd  Elders  &  Messengers 
to  help  &  incourage  us  in  this  worke  y*  is  to  be  carried  on  by  us 
upon  ye  day  above  mentioned. 

Thus  earnestly  desiring  ye  Everlasting  ffather,  ye  Prince  of 
Peace  &  ys  Eternall  Spirit  of  love  that  sitts  between  ye  Cheru- 
bims,  y1  is  in  ye  midst  of  ye  Golden  Candlesticks  &  y*  speakes 
unto  ye  churches,  to  prevent  all  impediments,  obstructions   to 


38  APPENDIX. 

or  motion,  to  stir  you  up  to  all  readiness  of  mind  to  accept 
thereof:  to  give  his  gratious  presence  to  you,  &  by  &  with  you 
unto  us,  we  remaine,  subscribing  orselves 

Yr  Neighbors    ffriends,  Companions  &  Brethren   in 
ye  common  Interest  of  Christ 
-ry-  (  Edward  Taylor         \  (  Ser.  Dewy 

T  1     1T79        i  John  Maddesley        >         <  Isaak  Phelps 
y  {  Ensign  Saml  Loomis  )  (  John  Root 

These  for  ye  Revnd.  Mr.  J.  F.  pastor  of,  together    with 
ye  chh  of  Christ  at  Norwich." 


B. 

In  his  sketch  of  the  first  Council,  Mr.  Taylor  records  the 
formal  commission  from  the  authorities  of  the  Colony  for  the  task 
of  organizing  the  church  : 

"  GPI  then  gave  an  account  of  the  work  of  the  day  and  in- 
quired into  the  order  of  our  motions  hitherto  and  our  liberty 
for  the  same  from 

i  Civill  Authority 
(  Church  dismission  of  members. 
As  for  the  answer  unto  the  first  this  following  order  which  was 
granted  the  foregoing  year  was  presented  and  read. 
August  9th,  1678. 

These  doe  signifie  that  we  approve  ye  christian  people  in 
ye  colony  of  Massachusetts  to  enter  into  a  church  state  according 
to  ye  rules  of  Christ  and  ye  laws  of  ye  country  in  that  case  pro- 
vided and  in  particular  the  persons  hereunder  named  viz.  Mr. 
Edward  Taylor  minister,  John  Maudesly,  Samuel  Loomis.  Isaak 
Phelps,  Thomas  Gun,  Josiah  Dewy  and  John  Root,  who  have 
made  application  to  us,  who  together  with  such  others  living 
in  that  place  whom  God  hath  fitted  as  living  stones  for  that 
spiritual  building  (having  testimony  of  their  professed  subjection 
unto  ye  gospell  of  Christ)  we  do  allow  to  enter  church  state  and 
commend  them  to  ye  Lord's  gracious  blessing.  Signed  ye  day 
and  year  above  written.  John  Leverett,  Govr. 


I 


Simeon  Broadstreet 

Daniel  Goodwin  Sr 

Thomas  Danforth 

T          ^  >  Assist. 

John  Pynchon  { 

Edward  Ting 

Joseph  Dddly  j 

Thomas   Gun,  John    Maudesley,  Samuel  Loomis    and   Isaak 
Phelps  were  recommended  by  letters  "  writ  to  myself,"  as  Mr. 


APPENDIX.  39 

Taylor  says,  from  Windsor.     John  Root  brought  a  letter  from 
Farmiugton,  Josiah  Dewj-  and  John  Ingerson  from  Northampton. 


c. 

From  a  letter  received  by  the  Hon.  William  G.  Bates  at  the 
time  of  celebrating  the  town  bi-centennial,  from  Mr.  Henry  W. 
Taylor,  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  a  few  brief  extracts  may  prop- 
erly be  made  to  heighten  our  estimate  and  enlarge  our  conception 
of  the  first  pastor.  The  whole  sketch,  as  given  in  the  Bi-Cen- 
tennial  volume,  is  well  worthy  of  perusal : 

"  He  was  born  in  England,  educated  for  the  ministry,  studied 
seven  years  in  one  of  their  universities ;  but  the  ejection  of  two 
thousand  dissenting  clergymen  in  1662,  and  the  persecutions 
which  that  class  of  christians  suffered,  induced  him  to  a  voluntary 
exile.  He  was,  through  his  whole  life,  a  most  voluminous  writer, 
keeping  a  diary  of  the  running  events  of  his  life,  and  recording 
things  of  passing  interest.  He  left  a  large  number  of  written 
folio  volumes,  and  he  was  in  the  habit  of  transcribing,  with  his 
own  hand,  the  books  which  were  loaned  to  him  by  his  friend 
Judge  Sewall  of  Boston.  *  *  *  Mr.  Taylor  also  studied 
medicine  ;  and  during  his  life  was  accustomed  to  minister  as 
well  to  the  diseases  of  the  body,  as  of  the  soul.  He  also  gave 
attention  to  natural  history,  and  some  of  his  compositions  were 
published  in  the  scientific  literature  of  the  day." 

The  writer  of  the  above,  his  great-grandson,  has  a  small  book 
of  his,  inscribed  on  the  title-page  : 

"  Such  things  as  are  herein  contained  are  the  Principalis  of 
Physick,  as  to  the  practical  part  thereof,  being  extracts  of  that 
famous  Physician,  Riverius." 

In  the  same  book  President  Stiles,  Mr.  Edward  Taylor's  grand- 
son, bears  witness  to  his  attainments  as  a  literary  man: 

"  He  was  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  being  master  of  the 
three  learned  languages,  a  great  historian,  and  every  way  a  .very 
learned  man.  He  was  an  incessant  student,  but  used  no  specta- 
cle glasses  to  his  death.  I  have  a  manuscript  folio  of  six  hun- 
dred pages,  his  commentary  upon  the  Evangelists.     *     *     *     * 

A  man  of  small  stature,  but  firm  ;  of  quick  passions,  yet  seri- 
ous and  grave." 


40  APPENDIX. 

A  MODEL  LOVE  LETTER. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  letter  among  the  col- 
lections in  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  written  by  the 
Rev.  Edward  Taylor,  of  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  July,  1674,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Fitch,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  Fitch,  one  of 
the  original  proprietors,  and  the  first  clergyman  settled  in  the 
town  of  Norwich. 

This  letter  was  written  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  to  Miss  Fitch 
— reputed  to  have  been  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  lady — 
during  his  courtship,  and  was  to  have  been  read,  if  opportunity 
offered,  at  the  bi-centennial  dinner,  by  Colonel  George  L.  Perkins, 
a  great-great-grandson  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fitch : 

Westfifxd,  Mass.,  8th  day  of  the  7th  month,  i674. 
My  Dove  : — I  send  you  not  nry  heart,  for  that  I  hope  is  sent 
to  Heaven  long  since,  and  unless  it  has  awfully  deceived  me  it 
hath  not  taken  up  its  lodgings  in  any  one's  bosom  on  this  side 
the  ro}ral  city  of  the  Great  King ;  but  yet  the  most  of  it  that  is 
allowed  to  be  layed  out  upon  any  creature  doth  safely  and  singly 
fall  to  your  share.  So  much  my  post  pigeon  presents  you  with 
here  in  these  lines.  Look  not  (I  entreat  you)  on  it  as  one  of 
love's  hyperboles.  If  I  borrow  the  beams  of  some  sparkling  met- 
aphor to  illustrate  my  respects  unto  thyself  by,  for  you  having 
made  my  breast  the  cabinet  of  your  affections  as  I  yours  mine, 
I  know  not  how  to  offer  a  fitter  comparison  to  set  out  ray  love 
by,  than  to  compare  it  unto  a  golden  ball  of  pure  fire  rolling  up 
and  down  my  breast,  from  which  there  flies  now  and  then  a  spark 
like  a  glorious  beam  from  the  body  of  the  flaming  sun.  But 
alas  !  striving  to  catch  these  sparks  into  a  love  letter  unto  your- 
self, and  to  gild  it  with  them  as  with  a  sun  beam,  find,  that  by 
what  time  they  have  fallen  through  my  pen  upon  my  paper,  they 
have  lost  their  shine  and  fall  only  like  a  little  smoke  thereon  in- 
stead of  gilding  them.  Wherefore,  finding  myself  so  much  de- 
ceived, I  am  ready  to  begrudge  my  instruments,  for  though  my 
love  within  nry  breast  is  so  large  that  my  heart  is  not  sufficient 
to  contain  it,  37et  they  can  make  it  no  more  room  to  ride  into, 
than  to  squeeze  it  up  betwixt  my  black  ink  and  white  paper. 
But  know  that  it  is  the  coarsest  part  that  is  couchant  there,  for 
the  finest  is  too  fine  to  clothe  in  any  linguist  and  huswifry,  or  to 
be  expressed  in  words,  and  though  this  letter  bears  but  the 
coarsest  part  to  you,  yet  the  purest  is  improved  for  you.  But 
now,  my  dear  love,  lest  my  letter  should  be  judged  the  lavish 
language  of  a  lover's  pen,  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  that  conjugal 
love  ought  to  exceed  all  other  love.  1st,  appears  from  that 
which  it  represents,  viz. :     The  respect  there  is  betwixt  Christ 


APPENDIX.  41 

and  his  church,  Eph.  5th,  25th,  although  it  differs  from  that  in 
kind  ;  for  that  is  spiritual  and  this  human,  and  in  degree,  that  is 
boundless  and  transcendent,  this  limited  and  subordinate  ;  yet  it 
holds  out  that  this  should  be  cordial  and  with  respect  to  all  other 
transcendent.  2d,  Because  conjugal  love  is  the  ground  of  con- 
jugal union,  or  conjugal  sharing  the  effects  of  this  love,  is  also  a 
ground  of  this  union.  3d,  From  those  Christian  duties  which 
are  incumbent  on  persons  in  this  state  as  not  only  a  serving  God 
together,  a  praying  together,  a  joining  in  the  ruling  and  instruct- 
ing their  family  together,  which  could  not  be  carried  on  as  it 
should  be  without  a  great  degree  of  true  love,  and  also  a  mutual 
giving  each  other  to  each  other,  a  mutual  succoring  each  other  in 
all  states,  ails,  grievances  ;  and  how  can  this  be  when  there  is 
not  a  love  exceeding  all  other  love  to  any  creature?  And 
hereby  if  persons  in  this  state  have  not  love  exceeding  all  love, 
it's  with  them  for  the  most  part  as  with  the  strings  of  an  instru- 
ment not  tuned  up,  when  struck  upon  makes  but  a  jarring,  harsh 
sound.  But  when  we  get  the  wires  of  an  instrument  equally 
drawn  up,  and  rightly  struck  upon,  sound  together,  make  sweet 
music  whose  harmony  doth  enravish  the  ear ;  so  when  the  golden 
strings  of  true  affection  are  struck  up  into  a  right  conjugal  love, 
thus  sweetly  doth  this  state  then  harmonize  to  the  comfort  of 
each  other  and  to  the  glory  of  God  when  sanctified.  But  yet, 
the  conjugal  love  must  exceed  all  other,  yet  it  must  be  kept 
within  bounds,  for  it  must  be  subordinate  to  God's  glory  ;  the 
which  that  mine  may  be  so,  it  having  got  you  in  its  heart,  doth 
offer  my  heart  with  you  in  it  as  a  more  rich  sacrifice  into  God 
through  Christ,  and  so  it  subscribeth  me, 

Your  true  love  till  death, 

EDWARD  TAYLOR. 

This  for  my  friend  and  only  beloved 

Miss  Elizabeth  Fitch, 

at  her  father's  house  in  Norwich. 

The  reader  of  this  letter  does  not  fully  appreciate  it,  and  can 
not  do  so,  without  seeing  the  facsimile  of  it.  An  imperfect  de- 
scription can  not  do  justice  to  it.  The  reverend  gentleman 
brought  the  fine  arts  to  his  aid  ;  and  rightly  so,  for  love  itself  is 
one  of  the  fine  arts,  and  is  so  denominated  by  one  of  the  old 
Roman  poets. 

Our  types  do  not  allow  us  to  copy  the  pictorial  illustrations  ; 
but  our  readers  may  fancy  a  "  pen  and  ink  sketch"  of  what  he 
calls  a  dove,  in  the  lower  corner  of  the  letter,  of  the  size  of  an 
old-fashioned  ninepence,  without  feathers,  and  looking  like  a 
plucked  chicken.  It  was  necessary  to  denude  it  of  its  feathers, 
6 


42  APPENDIX. 

to  have  room  to  inscribe  upon  the  side  of  its  body  the  following 
couplet : 

This  clove  and  olive  branch  to  you 
Is  both  a  post  and  emblem  too. 

INVENTORY  OF  REV.  EDWARD  TAYLOR. 

IN    RECORDS    OF     PROBATE     OFFICE    OF     NORTHAMPTON,  VOL.  5. AN 

ANCIENT   TOME    BOUND    IN    HOG-SKIN    PARCHMENT. 

Hampshire  Westfield,  Oct.  14th,  1729  Deacon  David  Ashley  & 
f  James  Dewey  &  Nehemiah  Loomis  were  appointed 
|  &  sworn  to  apprize  the  estate  of  the  Revd  Mr. 
Mr.  Edwd  j  Edward  Taylor  Lately  Deceased  in  Westfield 
Taylor.  "]  aforesd.  John  Ashley  Just.  Peace.  An  Inventory 
|  of  the  Estate  of  the  Revnd.  Mr.  Edward  Taylor  De- 
ceased this  done  Aug.  29th,  1729 
No.  1. — A  Great  coat  20s.  A  lined  Jacket  20s.  A  shirt  6s, 
a  shirt  3s,  a  pair  of  breeches  2s.  Two  pair  of  breeches  Is.  A 
Hat  13s.  Gloves  Is.  2  Bands  Is.  6d.  An  old  Gown  3s.  A 
Jacket  3s.  Two  brown  under  Jackets  2s.  A  white  woolen  under 
Jacket  6d.  To  a  Bed  and  Bolster  in  the  Parlour  Chamber 
£3.  In  :  0.  A  set  of  brown  stamped  brown  curtains  &  Valliants 
15s.  Bedsted  Rope  &  Rods  20s.  Hair  Cloth  20s.  An  old 
flower'd  Rag  at  5s.  A  white  Blanket  at  8s.  A  Good  Flower'd 
Rug  at  25s.  A  white  Rug  10s.  A  Flag  Matt,  Is.  6d.  A 
Streaked  Pillow  5s.  A  Red  Rug  5s.  An  old  Feather  Bed  in  the 
Parlour  40s.  A  Bolster  9s.  A  Pillow  6s.  A  Blanket  with 
black  streaks  6s.  A  Set  of  Red  Curtains  &  Valliants  30s.  An 
old  under  Bed  2s.  Bedstead  &  Rop.  20s.  A  new  Bed  in  the 
outward  chamber  £3.  An  underbed  2s.  another  old  underbed 
3s.  Old  streaked  curtains  Vallece  &  Bedstead  6s.  An  old  Bol- 
ster some  feathers  in  it  3s.  A  Bed  in  the  outwd  room  Bolster  & 
Pillows  £4.  15s.  Two  Rugs  in  the  outward  room  30s.  the  Bed- 
stead Ropes  &  Matt,  5s.  An  old  white  Blanket  3s.  An  old 
piece  of  Green  Broad  Cloth  3s.  A  pair  of  sheets  18s.  A  good 
sheet  9s.  3  old  sheets  lis.  A  sheet  8s.  An  old  sheet  3s.  Two 
sheets  20s.  Two  old  sheets  3s.  An  old  sheet  2s.  6d.  An  old 
Cotten  sheet  4s.  A  good  sheet  8s.  Another  good  sheet  8s.  A 
pair  of  Good  sheets  25s.  Six  Cotten  Napkins  18s.  An  old 
Holland  Table  cloth  3s.  Another  Table  Cloth  2s.  5  Towells 
wove  with  a  wale  7s.  6d.  Two  old  Towells  Is.  Two  Towells 
2s.  A  Holland  Pillow  Bier  3s.  2  Pillow  biers  2s.  6d.  A  Table 
Cloth  Is.  6d.  A  Napkin  Is.  A  strainer  Is.  A  Great  Pie  Plate 
10s.  A  Great  Platter  14s.  A  Platter  13s.  Another  Platter 
13s.  3  Platters  36s.  3  more  Platters  30s.  One  Platter  10s. 
one  Platter  12s.  two  Platters  18s.  A  little  Platter  3s.  5  plates 
15s.  Two  old  plates  4s.  A  Bason  4s.  6d.  2  basons  4s.  6d.  2 
little  basons  2s.  6d.     A  pint  cup,  4s.  6d.     Old  Pewter  6s.     A 


APPENDIX.  43 

Tankard  6s.  6d.     Part  &  wheels  10s.     Cups  &  Tin  2s.  6d.     A 
Coller  6s. 

No.  2.— Traces  18s.  A  Slead  6s.  Small  Caps  &  pin  2s.  1 
Hoe  5s.  An  ax  4s.  2  Wedges  4s.  Beetle  rings  2s  6d.  Yoak 
&  Irons  5s.  Several  Old  Rings  &  pieces  of  fetters  3s.  An  ax 
6s.  Another  pail  2s.  Another  pail  Is.  2  pottles  2s.  A  churn 
2s.  6d.  Dishes  &  Trenchers  3s.  A  Great  wheel  5s.  A  little 
wheel  5s.  A  wreal  2s.  6d.  A  cheese  fat  &  straining  dish  Is.  6d. 
An  old  Book  Is.  Cards  2s.  6d.  Old  Iron  2s.  2  old  Barrels  3s. 
Scales  &  Waits  Is.  6d.  Knives  &  forks  6s.  A  pair  of  shears  & 
2  little  bottles  Is.  6d.  A  Sow  &  two  pigs  36s.  Another  sow 
30s.  9  swarms  of  bees  £4.  10s.  Od.  Two  forks  3s.  A  Plow  & 
Irons  20s.  Plow  chain  14s.  A  Rug  in  the  Garret  15s.  A  ham- 
mer Is.  6d.  A  Heifer  £3.  5s.  Od.  A  little  heifer  17s.  Another 
heifer  £1.  14s.  Od.  A  Young  horse  £7.  0s.  Od.  A  Colt  50s.  A 
Malt  Trough  10s. 

No.  3.— A  Great  Kettle  £5.  0s.  Od.  A  Midling  Kettle 
£2.  15s.  Od.  A  Less  Kettle,  £1.  15s.  Od.  A  little  Skillit  6s.  A 
Three  leged  Brass  pan  18s.  A  Brass  Pan  20s.  A  Great  Skillit 
10s.  A  Pie  pan  4s.  A  brass  Scummer  &  Ladle  7s.  6d.  A 
Brass  Candlestick  4s.  A  flat  candlestick  2s.  Hand  Irons  Brass 
Plates  16s.  Hand  Iron  Tops  8s.  A  warming  Pan  25s.  An 
Iron  Dish  Kettle  17s.  An  Iron  Pot  20s.  one  Trammel  6s. 
Another  Trammel  4s.  Pothooks  3s.  A  pair  of  Tongs  6s.  An- 
other pair  4s.  A  slice  4s.  Great  Hand  Irons  20s.  °Grid  Irons 
12s.  Great  Flat  Hand  Irons  6s.  Little  Slim  Hand  Irons,  4s. 
Grid  Iron  5s.  frying  pan  9s.  A  spit  5s.  A  Brass  Chopping 
Dish  &  little  piece  of  Bass  4s.  A  Burning  Iron  Is.  A  Fender 
Is.  A  Branding  Iron  2s.  A  turn  Gouge  Is.  A  Swivle  Is.  6d. 
A  Box  Iron  &  Heaters  6s.  An  Iron  Candlestick  Is.  Hetchels 
5s.  Musket  10  s.  A  Pistol  4s.  A  Hewing  Ax  2s.  6d.  A  Par- 
cel of  old  Iron  2s.  6d.  Collerhooks  Is.  A  "Plain  Iron  6s.  ham- 
mer Is.  A  .chamber  pot  Is.  A  Tunnel  lOd.  paper  box  4d. 
A  Paper  Morter  &  Pestle  3s.  6d.  Earthen  Pans  Is.  4d.  Great 
Table  in  je  Parlour  25s.  A  Great  Table  in  the  Outwd  Room  20s. 
A  Silver  Tankard  £15.  5s.  Od.  A  two  ear'd  cup,  one  Pottinger 
a  salt  seller  &  4  spoons  &  a  drain  cup  Total  wt.  37  oz. 
£34 :  0s.  Od.  A  Black  Cow  £5.  10s.  Od.  The  Gallows  cow 
£5.  10.  Od.  The  Lined  Cow  £5.  5s.  Od.  A  little  Table  8s.  5 
chairs  15s.  3  chairs  7s.  6d.  2  Great  chairs  6s.  one  2.  Two 
high  chairs  7s.  2  Old  chairs  Is.  A  Chest  of  Drawers  30s.  A 
Narrow  chest  2s.  6d.  A  long  form  7s.  A  Cupboard  Cushion 
10s.  A  Looking  Glass  2s.  A  staff  Is.  6d.  A  chair  table  lis. 
A  Looking  Glass  16s.  A  carved  chest  16s.  A  new  chest  6s. 
A  Trunk  6s.  An  Indian  bark  Is.  A  little  square  trunk  Is.  A 
joint  stool  3s.  A  compass  Is.  Aflaskit5s.  The  Studdy  Table 
10s.  The  little  old  bellows  4s.  An  old  hour  glass  Is.  A  Box 
in  the  Studdy  4s.     Wooden  Steelyards  Is.     2  old  chests  5s.     A 


44  APPENDIX. 

Half  bush11  2s.  6d.  A  two  pound  weight  Is.  3  Sievs  Is.  6d.  2 
old  barrels  2s.  A  Pork  barrel  2s.  6d.  A  Cider  barrel  2s.  A 
cider  barrel  3s.  A  small  Cask  Is.  Gd.  A  Beer  barrel  2s.  A 
Powdering  Tub  2s.  2  old  Casks  in  the  Celler  2s.  An  old  lye  tub 
Is.     A  Mashing  Tub,  2s.     A  half  tub  Is.     Funnel  2s. 

The  total  valuation  of  his  property  thus  inventoried  amounts 
to  £182,  Os.,  6d.  That  of  his  library,  which  is  also  inventoried 
in  the  same  record,  is  £54,  4s.,  7d. 


D. 

After  receiving  the  impressive  deliverance  of  Samuell  Par- 
tridge, who  was  Judge  of  Probate  of  Hampshire  County,  respect- 
ino-  the  site  of  the  second  meeting-house,  it  was  voted  that  his  re- 
port should  be  the  "  finall  ishew  "  of  the  matter. 

"  At  the  same  meeting  it  was  voated  by  the  town  that  they 
would  beo-in  to  raise  the  new  meeting  house  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing at  2  hours  by  sun  in  the  morning  the  8'h  day  of  this  instant 
June,  assembling  to  work  at  the  beat  of  drum  every  morning 
until  it  is  over. 

At  the  same  meeting  it  was  voated  y*  all  men  belonging  to  the 
town  shall  assist  in  the  work  of  raising  the  meeting  house  from 
17  years  of  age  &  upwards  on  pain  &  penalty  of  3  shillings  pr. 
day  for  every  days  neglect  duering  the  time  of  raising  ex  all 
such  as  shall  make  a  satisfactory  excuse  to  the  Comitey  y*  have 
the  chairge  of  ye  mater. 

At  the  same  meeting  it  was  voated  that  the  comitey  shall  have 
liberty  to  prepare  four  or  five  barels  of  beer  at  the  town  charge 
for  that  consem  above  mentioned. 

At  the  same  meeting  it  was  voated  that  Captain  Phelps, 
Deacon  Noble  &  Deacon  Ashley  should  go  &  desier  Mr.  Taylor 
to  come  to  the  place  of  raising  the  meeting  house  then  &  their  at 
the  time  appointed  to  seek  to  God  for  his  guide  &  protection  in 
the  work  of  raising." 


E. 

The  Rev.  Nehemiah  Bull  was  descended  from  an  ancient  and 
honorable  family  of  that  name  in  Hartford.  His  great-grand- 
father, Capt.  Thomas  Bull,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  city, 
was  honorably  and  usefully  connected  with  the   bloody   battle 


APPENDIX.  45 

against  the  Pequot  Indians  in  May,  1637,  when,  as  a  historian  of 
the  period  has  said  : 

"  More  bravery  was  displayed  and  greater  good  achieved  to 
New  England,  than  by  any  battle  which  has  since  been  fought, 
not  excepting  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  Pequots  were  the 
most  warlike  and  blood-thirsty  Indian  nation  in  New  England. 
By  this  action  they  were  defeated  and  ruined  as  a  nation,  as  their 
fort  was  destroyed,  sevent}'  wigwams  burned,  about  six  hundred 
Indians  killed  in  the  action  by  Are  and  sword,  with  only  about 
seventy  active  white  men  in  the  field ;  by  which  action  Connecti- 
cut was  saved." 

Rev.  Mr.  Bull's  oldest  son,  William,  a  physician,  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Colonel  John  Ashley,  of  Sheffield.  They  had  a  son 
William,  who  entered  the  profession  of  his  father. 


F. 

The  "  Half- Way  Covenant,"  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 
is  here  given  in  full : 

"  I  believe  (we)  y*  there  is  one  only  living  &  true  God  In- 
finite Eternal  &  Unchangeable  in  his  being,  wisdom,  Power, 
Holiness,  Justice,  Goodness  &  Truth,  Distinguished  into  &  sub- 
sisting in  3  Persons,  who  are  ye  same  in  substance  essence  &  at- 
tributes Equal  in  Authority,  Glory  &  Majesty  but  distinguished 

by  their &  personal  propertys,  ye  father  being  ye  first  in 

order  begetting  ye  Son,  ye  Son  ye  2d  begotten  of  ye  father,  ye  Holy 
Ghost  ye  3d  proceeding  from  ye  father  &  ye  Son.  I  (we)  believe 
yf  this  God  is  ye  Almighty  Creator  ye  wise  &  Good  upholder, 
ye  Just  Sovereign  Governour  &  disposer  of  all  his  creatures  & 
all  their  actions.  I  (we)  believe  yl  man  created  in  his  image  in 
a  state  of  integrity  was  placed  under  a  covenant  of  life  upon  con- 
dition of  perfect  obedience  but  by  his  disobedience  lost  both  his 
uprightness  &  title  to  life  &  is  by  nature  in  a  state  of  weakness 
enmity,  pollution,  Guilt,  unrighteousness  &  wrath.  I  (we)  be- 
lieve y*  when  ye  fullness  of  time  was  come  God  sent  forth  his 
only  begotten  Son  to  take  upon  him  ye  nature  of  man  y'  so  sub- 
sisting in  2  distinct  natures  (divine  &  human  in  one  Person)  he 
might  be  a  fit  Mediator  between  God  &  man  suitably  qualified 
to  Redeem  man  by  price  &  power  &  effectively  Reconcile  him  to 
God,  for  which  end  God  appointed  (gave  permission  to)  his  Son, 
to  be  a  Prophet,  Priest  &  King  to  his  church,  who  did  in  ye  days 
of  his  flesh  execute  these  offices  by  obeying  ye  Law,  Revealing 
ye  Gospell  &  suffering  death,  &  when  he  had  continued  under' 


46  APPENDIX. 

ye  power  of  death  for  a  time  he  arose  from  ye  dead,  ascended  into 
heaven  &  sat  down  on  ye  Right  hand  of  God  where  he  now  con- 
tinues to  execute  ye  several  offices  of  a  Mediator,  Pleading  his 
own  merits  on  ye  behalf  of  ye  elect,  interceding  for  era,  sending 
ye  Holy  Sp'  to  inlighten,  convince,  effectually  call  &  sanctify 
those  that  are  given  to  him,  who  being  innabled  to  believe  in  his 
name  to  ye  justification  of  their  persons  shall  be  openly  acquitted, 
pronounced  blessed  &  invited  by  ye  Supreme  judge  to  take  pos- 
session of  ye  Kingdom  of  glory  prepared  for  em,  at  that  day  when 

God   shall    weigh   ye both  just    &  unjust,    &   shall  judge 

ye  herets  of  men  by  J :  Christ  who  also  will  condemn  all  that 
obey  not  ye  gospel  to  everlasting  punishm*  according  to  ye  script- 
ures of  wrath  wch  I  believe  to  be  ye  word  of  God  &  ye  only  rule 
of  faith  &  manners." 


G. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Ballantine  was  Mary  Gay,  niece  of  the  Rev. 
Ebenezer  Gay,  who  was  pastor  of  the  First  Church  at  Hingham 
for  sixty-nine  years ;  called  by  Savage,  "  the  honored  patri- 
arch of  the  New  England  pulpit  of  that  age."  The  excellent 
traits  and  remarkable  talents  of  Mrs.  Ballantine  are  matters  of 
tradition. 

The  intellectual  gifts  of  the  Gay  family  have  descended  to  her 
posterity,  some  of  whom  have  been  lights  to  the  heathen  in 
foreign  lands.  The  interesting  work  recently  published,  en- 
titled, "  Midnight  Marches  through  Persia,"  was  written  by  one 
of  her  descendants.  A  book  in  our  own  Sunday-school  library, 
showing  how  desirable  it  is  to  be  "  shod  with  peace,"  was  written 
by  another  descendant,  residing  here. 

Lydia  Gay,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Ballantine,  rode  to  Westfield  from 
Dedham  on  a  pillion  behind  the  parson.  She  came  to  be  an 
inmate  of  his  family,  and  married  Col.  David  Mosely,  a  great- 
grandson  of  John  Maudesley,  one  of  the  "  foundation-men."  She 
lived  to  the  age  of  ninet3^-four  years,  a  gentle  and  lovable  old 
lady  ;  who,  as  she  sat  and  knit  at  that  remarkable  age,  enter- 
tained her  great-grandchildren  with  many  reminiscences  of  Mr. 
Ballantine's  family.  To  one  of  them  I  am  indebted  for  these 
facts. 

The  following  additional  citations  from  Mr.  Ballantine's  diary, 
.quoted  from  in  the  sermon,  are  not  without  interest : 


APPENDIX.  47 

"Jan.  21st,  1764.  Attended  the  funeral  of  Nath.  Pynchon  at 
Springfield,  whom  I  fitted  for  college.  They  gave  me  and  my 
wife  a  pair  of  gloves." 

This  seems  to  have  been  his  first  observation  of  a  custom  that 
has  continued  to  some  extent  to  the  present  day,  at  least  so  far 
as  to  provide  the  officiating  clergyman  with  them. 

"Jan.  17,  1768.  I  preached.  Sang  twice  in  the  forenoon. 
The  singers  stood  up  in  the  gallery  and  sang  new  tunes.  Some 
disgusted  and  left  the  house." 

Nearly  twenty  years  before  this,  according  to  the  church 
record,  "  it  was  proposed  that  Dr.  Watts'  version  of  the  Psalms 
should  be  used  at  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  No 
objections."  But  the  new-fangled  tunes  seem  to  have  caused 
righteous  indignation  in  those  who  had  courage  to  express  it. 

Mr.  Ballantine  took  special  pains  to  record  what  was  unusual, 
mysterious,  or  grotesque,  as  the  following  entries  indicate : 

"  "Went  to  Granville.  In  the  night  the  house  of  Mr.  Jonathan 
Rose  took  fire  and  was  consumed.  Mr.  R.  was  burnt  in  it,  a 
man  90  years  old.  All  the  remains  of  the  body  might  have  been 
put  in  a  half- peck  measure." 

"  Attended  Capt.  Clapp's  funeral.  As  they  were  letting  the 
coffin  down,  the  head  string  broke ;  it  fell  and  broke  off  the  lid 
and  split  the  head  ;  it  was  taken  up  and  mended." 

(Query. — Does  the  last  clause  refer  to  the  coffin  or  the  head  ?) 
The  following  is  suggestive  of  the  generous  doses  of  medicine 
prescribed  to  patients  before  the  disciples  of  Hahnemann  discov- 
ered the  efficacy  of  sugar  pellets  :  Mr.  Israel  Noble  was  sick  of 
a  fever,  and  Dr.  Pynchon  of  Springfield  having  been  called, 
thought  the  case  hopeless,  "  but  prescribed  rhubarb,  liquorice, 
cream  of  tartar  and  some  other  smaller  matters,  together  with  a 
decoction  of  the  Cortex  (P.  bark)  and  claret  wine,  pap  of  wheat 
bread  and  rice."  Surely,  if  not  hopeless  before,  it  must  have 
been  after  taking  such  a  remedy  !  He  goes  on  to  say,  showing 
the  prevalence  of  superstition  in  that  day :  "  Mr.  Noble  and 
wife  heard  last  fall  an  unusual  knocking  at  the  door,  which 
beo-an  about  daybreak  and  continued  till  sunrise.  They  could 
hear  no  voice,  nor  see  any  one,  though  they  got  up."  Perhaps 
it  was  an  ominous  premonition  of  the  Doctor's  knock. 


48  APPENDIX. 

One  more  entry  is  added,  illustrative  of  the  generosity  of  his 
people,  and  the  sentiment  of  the  times  on  what  is  now  a  subject 
of  practical  morality  :  On  the  eve  of  his  daughter's  wedding, 
October  16th,  1768,  the  following  articles  were  sent  to  the  par- 
sonage, which  would  be  hardly  duplicated  now,  degenerate  as  the 
times  are : 

"  Mrs.  Parks,  1  gallon  of  rum.  Capt.  Mosely,  2  qts.  Dea. 
Shepard,  a  leg  of  mutton.  Mrs.  Clapp,  1  qt.  rum.  Thos.  Root. 
2  qts.  of  brandy.  Matt.  Noble,  flour  and  suet.  Ensign  Noble, 
some  butter.  Clark  King,  pig.  Ensign  Ingersoll,  2  qts.  rum. 
Mrs.  Ashley,  a  loyn  of  mutton  and  butter.  Mrs.  Kellogg,  some 
cranberries.  David  Mosely,  a  pig  and  3  fowls.  N.  Weller,  a 
piece  of  veal  and  suet.  Ensign  Weller,  apples.  Mrs.  Ford, 
cabbage  and  potatoes.  S.  Noble,  2  fowls.  D.  Root,  2  qts. 
brandy." 

Reference  is  made  in  the  sermon  to  two  grandsons  of  Mr.  Bal- 
lantine  who  entered  the  ministry.  The  six  children  of  Henry, 
who  was  missionary  in  India,  are  now  in  that  country ;  one  son 
a  minister,  another  a  physician,  the  three  daughters  are  wives  of 
missionaries — Mrs.  Harding,  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  and  Mrs.  Parks. 
Two  sons  of  Elisha  are  ministers.  Henry  W.  is  at  Bloomfield, 
N.  J.,  and  William  Gay  is  Professor  in  Ripon  College,  Wiscon- 
sin. Henry  and  Elisha  were  sons  of  a  physician,  but  he  had  a 
brother,  William  Gay,  who  was  a  clergyman.  Thus  the  ministry 
has  secured  representatives  from  four  successive  generations  of 
that  family. 


H. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  H.  W.  Clapp,  of  this  town,  I  have 
been  allowed  to  see  a  copy  of  the  will  of  one  of  his  remote 
ancestors,  which  provides  for  what  was  probably  the  first  legacy 
ever  made  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  in  Westfield.  The 
donor  was  Capt.  Roger  Clapp,  who  was  a  very  remarkable  man. 
From  1665  to  1686  he  was  the  redoubtable  commander  of  the 
Castle  in  Boston  Harbor,  now  Fort  Independence.  He  would 
not  permit  a  soldier  to  serve  under  him  who  was  not  a  professing 
christian.  He  died  in  1691,  at  a  good  old  age,  leaving  in  his 
will  the  following  clause  : 

"  I  giue  out  of  my  farme  at  pachasack  in  westfield  fifty  acors 


APPENDIX.  49 

unto  the  inhabitance  of  that  towne  towards  the  maintenance  of 
an  able  minister  in  that  towne  with  this  prowiso :  that  they  paye 
or  cause  to  be  pay  two  busshels  of  good  wheat  unto  my  dear  wife 
in  boston  yearly  during  her  natural!  life." 


I. 

Deacon  Thomas  Noble,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  the  ser- 
mon, was  the  second  of  the  name  in  the  church.  Thomas  Noble, 
Sr.,  his  father,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Springfield,  reach- 
ing there  in  1653.  He  moved  to  Westfield  probably  in  the 
autumn  of  1668,  and  immediately  became  prominent  in  town 
affairs,  serving  in  various  responsible  positions.  He  was  for  a 
time  constable,  and  afterward  count}'  surveyor.  The  Hampshire 
County  records  indicate  that  he  once  got  into  difficulty  for  not 
obeying  the  stringent  laws  of  the  time  respecting  the  observance 
of  Fast  Day : 

"At  a  County  Corte  held  at  Northampton,  March  27th,  1683. 
Thomas  Noble  of  Westfield  being  prsented  by  the  Grand  jury  for 
Travelling  on  a  day  of  Humiliation,  publiquely  appointed  by  the 
Gen11  Corte,  which  he  owned,  pleading  his  necessity  for  Comeing 
home,  and  yet  this  Corte  Considering  said  offense,  being  a  grow- 
ing evil  amongst  us,  many  Persons  too  much  disregarding  such 
Extraordinary  Dutys  &  Seasons,  have  adjudged  sd.  Noble  to  pay 
as  a  fine  to  the  County  treasurer  five  shillings." 

Mr.  Noble  was  the  emigrant  ancestor  of  the  largest  family 
bearing  the  name  in  the  United  States. 


50 


APPENDIX. 
J. 


1679.        ^^5TW^4^        1879. 


WESTFDELB*  M&§§„ 


You  are  invited  to  attend  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Westfeld,  on 

SUNDAY,  October  5,  1879, 

Consisting  of  a  Memorial  Sermon  by  the  Pastor  at  the  morning  service, 
and  a  Service  of  Praise  in  the  evening. 

A  copy  of  the  Sermon,  when  published,  will  be  sent  you  gratuitously 
on  the  receipt  of  a  request  for  it. 

Yours  in  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

HERBERT  LYMAN. 
Westfeld,  Mass.,  September  17,  1879. 


Responses  to  Letters  of  Invitation. 


Mrs.  E.  Williams,  Fall  River.  Mass. 

Mr.  &  Mrs.  J.  l>.  Taylor,  Minneapo- 
lis. Minn. 

Miss  Hattie  C.  Merwin.  Vinton,  la. 

Fred.  King,  Austin,  Minn. 

S.  Munson,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Lewis  Parsons,  Northampton, 
Mass. 

J.  Fowler,  Castalia,  O. 

Mrs.  George  B.  Clark,  Cambridge- 
port.  Mass. 

Mrs.  Turner  S.  Cleveland,  Salem, 
N.Y. 

Charles  Hutchins,  Boston,  Mass. 

Mrs.  C.  W.  Farnam,  Brooklyn,  Cal. 

Selah  Merrill,  Andover,  Mass. 

G   C.  London,  Frenchtown,  N.  J. 

John  M    Ballantine,  Taunton,  Mass. 

M   S.  Hueisd,  Wilbraham,  Mass. 

Mr-=.  Robert  Whitney,  Peterboro, 
N.  H. 

Rev.  K.  J.  Hurlrut,  Mittineague, 
Mass. 

Rf.v.  a.J  Titsworth.  Chelsea,  Mass. 

Mrs.  A.  S.  Hale,   Minneapolis,   Minn. 

L.  C.  Shepakd,  Menasha,  wis. 

J.  B.  Eldrepge,  Hartford.  Conn. 

D.  S.  Rowe.  Tarrytown,  N.  Y. 

J.  C.  Atwater.  New  York  City. 

D.  A.  Fitch,  strawn,  Kan. 

Mrs.  C,  W.  Shepard,  Litchfield,  Conn. 

Rev.  B,  M.  Fullerton,  Palmer,  Mass. 


Jos.  W.  King,  Jacksonville,  111. 
Samuel  C.  Lewis.  Tarrytown,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.    D.    W.  Ingersoll,    Constantia, 

N.Y. 
Edward  Taylor,  Andover,  Mass. 
Rev.  Daniel  Butler.  Waverly,  Mass. 
John  Eomans,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
H.  F.  Simmons,  New  York  City. 
Wm.  L.  atwater.  New  York  City. 
H.  T.  Morgan,  New  York  City. 
M.  T.  Gleason,  Newton,  Mass. 
Geo.  E.  Knapp,  Bloomington,  111. 
Hiram  Smith,  Hillsdale,  Mich. 
Rev.  L.  D.  Calkins,  West  Springfield. 
Daniel  Munson,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Ira  G.  Whitney',  New  York  City. 
Roland  Mather,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Martin  N.  Day'.  New  York  City. 
A.  P.  Cart,  Gloucester.  Mass.  " 
Miss  E.  C    Hallid\y,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 
Miss  Nancy  Marsh,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Mrs.  H.  b.  Stockwell,  Providence, R.I. 
G.  Munson,  Huntington,  Mass. 
W.  B  C.  Pearsons.  Holyoke.  Mass. 
Samuel  A.  Green,  Boston,  Mass. 
Rev.    S.    G.    Buckingham,  Springfield, 

Mass. 
Rev.  W.  Gladden,  Sprinafield.  Ma3s. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Camprell,   Pittsfield,  Mass. 
Rev.  Wm.E.  Dickinson,  Chicopee,  Mass. 
A.  T.  Edson,  Feeding  Hills,  Mass. 


APPENDIX.  51 

[From  The  Western  Hampden   Times  and  News-Letter  of  Oct.  8,  1879.] 
THE  FIRST  CHURCH  OF  WESTFIELD, 

CELEBRATES    ITS    TWO-HUNDREDTH    ANNIVERSARY. REV.  J.  H.  LOCK- 

wood's   SERMON   IN   FULL. 


A  large  assembly  gathered  at  the  First  Church  last  Sabbath 
morning  to  listen  to  the  services  commemorating  the  two-hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  Society's  natal  day.  The  church 
was  tastefully  and  elaborately  decorated  with  flowers  and  ever- 
greens, handsomely  and  artistically  arranged  in  bouquets,  fes- 
toons, garlands,  and  other  exquisite  formations  and  impressive 
devices.  Shields,  bearing  the  names  of  the  eight  "  foundation- 
men  "  of  the  church,  were  arranged  along  the  front  of  the  gal- 
leries, four  on  each  side  of  the  house,  hung  between  festoons  of 
evergreens,  and  decorated  with  flowers,  cereals,  and  "  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  The  tablets  of  Rev.  Edward  Taylor  and  Rev. 
Dr.  Davis  were  appropriately  garlanded,  the  one  with  leaves  of 
the  oak,  and  the  other  with  roses  ; — the  latter  speaking  of  a  later 
bereavement,  though  both  equally  proclaiming  that  "  the  memory 
of  the  just  is  blessed."  An  arch  built  over  the  pulpit  bore  on  its 
crest  the  dates  "  1679 — 1879,"  while  a  scroll  winding  gracefully 
around  the  two  pillars,  intertwined  with  leaf  and  flower,  bore  the 
names  of  the  eight  pastors  of  the  church  who  preceded  Mr.  Lock- 
wood.  Portraits  of  the  pastors  of  the  Second  Church  were  prettily 
grouped  and  decorated  on  the  front  of  the  west  gallery.  Two 
large  autumn  bouquets,  placed  in  front  of  Mr.  Lockwood's  desk, 
were  universally  admired  for  the  artistic  combination  of  their 
colors  and  the  harmonious  blending  of  their  soft  autumnal  tints. 
Great  praise  is  due  to  George  Houghton,  carpenter,  and  R.  T. 
King,  artist,  .for  executing  so  faithfully  and  efficiently  the  chaste 
and  elegant  designs  of  the  committee  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
who  had  the  matter  in  charge.  To  say  that  the  ladies  deserve  a 
share  of  credit  for  the  meritorious  display  would  be  almost  su- 
perfluous ;  their  taste  and  judgment  and  skill  were  discernible  in 
it  all. 

A  quartette,  composed  of  Mrs.  Mary  Mullen,  Miss  Mary  E. 
Kingsley,  H.  B.  Stevens,  Esq.,  and  Prof.  Le  Clair  of  Holyoke, 
began  the  exercises  by  singing  Kotzschman's  "  Te  Deum,  in  F." 
Rev.  Henry  Hopkins  read  passages  from  Scripture  appropriate 


52  APPENDIX. 

to  the  occasion,  and  offered  prayer.  Singing  by  the  congrega- 
tion of  "  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,"  followed.  After 
which,  Rev.  Mr.  Lockwood  delivered  an  able  and  comprehen- 
sive historical  discourse,  which  we  give  to  our  readers  in  full. 
Though  a  comparative  stranger  to  our  town,  it  can  be  said,  with 
as  much  surprise  as  justice,  that  Mr.  Lockwood,  by  diligent 
study  and  hard  work  among  the  musty  records  of  the  last  two 
centuries,  not  only  did  complete  justice  to  the  occasion  histori- 
cally, but  he  caught  the  inspiration  of  the  hour,  and  seemed  to 
stand,  and  to  make  his  hearers  stand,  in  the  august  and  almost 
divine  presence  of  his  great  and  venerated  predecessors  as  he 
graphically  unrolled  the  history  of  the  First  Church  of  Westfield 
for  the  last  two  hundred  years.  For  lack  of  time,  Mr.  Lockwood 
could  not  use  all  the  wealth  of  antique  lore  that  he  had  mined  for 
the  occasion  ;  but  we  are  requested  to  announce  that  the  pam- 
phlet edition  of  the  sermon,  soon  to  be  issued,  will  contain,  in 
an  ample  appendix,  much  of  the  deferred  material. 

A  praise  service  in  the  evening  worthily  closed  the  anniversary 
exercises.  Several  fine  selections  were  well  rendered  by  the 
quartette  of  the  morning,  assisted  by  Mrs.  R.  W.  Parks  and 
Miss  Mattie  Loomis  ;  selections  of  Scripture  were  read  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Lockwood  ;  and  a  brief,  but  able,  discourse,  eulogistic  of  the 
First  Church  and  its  founders,  was  given  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hopkins. 
Congregational  singing  also  added  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  occa- 
sion. Mr.  Hopkins  spoke  of  the  impressiveness  of  the  occasion 
and  of  the  tender  and  persuasive  influences  of  the  hour,  calling  all 
to  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  people  of  God.  After  expressing  the 
obligation  of  the  churches  to  Mr.  Lockwood,  for  the  patient  re- 
search and  exacting  toil  which  the  writing  of  his  sermon  had  de- 
manded, he  said : 

"It  is  proper  for  me  to  thank  you  especially  for  3-our  kind 
mention  of  us  in  the  Second  Church,  and  also  to  recognize  grate- 
fully the  cordial  christian  courtesy  of  our  reception  here  to-day. 
In  the  name  of  the  church,  I  most  heai'tily  assure  you  that  we 
join  }7ou  in  the  wish — and  we  will  make  the  wish  an  endeavor — 
that  the  same  harmony  which  has  characterized  the  past  may 
continue  always.  Next  to  the  spiritual  growth  and  power  of  our 
own,  we  desire  that  of  this  one,  that  stands  side  by  side  and 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  her.  It  is  perfectly  certain  that  any 
thing  which  injures  one  hurts  the  other,  and  that  any  thing  that 
gives  new  life  to  the  one  is  a  blessing  to  the  other.     The  circum- 


APPENDIX.  53 

stances  attending  the  separation  in  1856  were  calculated  to  pro- 
duce a  spirit  of  true  fellowship.  We  went  out  because  the  old 
home  was  crowded.  Some  one  must  go,  and  you  gave  us  your 
blessing.  Dr.  Davis  counseled  and  carried  out  the  colonization. 
His  two  sermons,  entitled,  k  Church  Extension,'  published  at  the 
request  of  the  Second  Church  and  Societj',  are  a  true  setting 
forth  of  the  whole  case.  The  first  sermon  was  preached  the  Sab- 
bath before  the  commencement  of  public  worship  by  the  colony 
in  Music  Hall,  and  the  second  on  the  occasion  of  the  organizing 
of  the  church.  There  was  no  quarreling  about  it,  no  party 
strife,  no  schism  in  the  body  of  Christ.  It  was  only  organizing 
another  regiment  in  the  same  holy  service.  That  movement,  so 
inaugurated,  was  not  a  mistake.  God  has  blessed  it.  Of  the 
sixty  members  who,  many  of  them  with  tears,  cut  loose  from  the 
old  organization,  thirt}r-three  are  still  members  of  the  Second 
Church.  These  are  here  with  hearts  aglow  to-day.  They  are 
like  naturalized  citizens  of  our  Republic,  to  whom  every  thing  in 
the  national  life  and  history  in  the  fatherland  belongs  fully  up  to 
the  time  of  the  new  relation,  and  who,  in  the  new-found  ties,  do 
not  forget  to  feel  love  and  pride  for  the  old.  But  the  fact  is,  we 
all  feel  so.  Just  as  American  citizens  have  a  right  to  share  in 
all  the  glory  and  renown  of  old  England  on  land  and  on  sea,  in 
every  great  name  in  her  literature  or  war,  statesmanship  or  phi- 
lanthropy, up  to  July  4th,  1776,  so  we  lay  claim  to  the  old  church 
history  as  a  part  of  our  heritage,  and  to  every  revered  and  hon- 
ored name,  down  to  May,  1856." 

Mr.  Hopkins  briefly  sketched  the  original  settlement,  by  the 
site  of  the  iron  bridge,  with  its  fort  over  a  cellar  and  its  two 
miles  of  palisades,  as  pictured  by  Mr.  Bates  in  his  bi-centennial 
address,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  recorded  by  him,  that, 
in  1677,  the  General  Court  provided  for  "  the  consolidation  of 
the  people  into  a  more  compact  community,"  and  that  then,  as 
appears  from  the  records  of  Massachusetts,  "  the  proprietors  of 
town  lots  in  Westfield  near  their  '  meeting  house,' "  made  certain 
agreements.  They  had,  then,  in  1677,  before  the  organization  of 
their  church,  "  a  meeting  house,"  provision  for  the  worship  of 
God,  and  for  the  church  that  was  to  be.  This  seems  to  answer 
the  question  asked  in  the  sermon  as  to  the  original  church 
building,  and  reveals  the  fact  that,  at  the  very  start,  central  in 
the  settlement,  as  essential  a  part  of  it  as  the  fort  or  the  dwell- 
ings, stood  the  house  of  God.  Were  those  brave,  hard-worked 
men  and  women  right  in  this  thing?  Yes,  thank  God,  they  were 
right.  They  had  little  thought  of  symbolism  in  religion  ;  but  in 
this  they  unconsciously  made  use   of  a  true    symbolism.     The 


54  APPENDIX. 

rude  church  stood  centra,!  among  their  rude  homes,  as  the  re- 
ligious principle  is  central  in  man,  and  as  it  must  be  made  cen- 
tral in  every  enduring  form  of  society.  The  love  of  God's  house, 
not  of  the  rough  log  building  "  thirty-six  feet  square,"  not  of  the 
house  made  with  hands,  but  of  that  living  temple,  the  church  of 
God,  was  characterized  as  the  deep,  tender,  life-giving,  divine 
principle  that  dwelt  in  the  fathers.  This,  more  than  their  rigid, 
puritanic  sense  of  duty,  was  that  which  distinguishes  them.  This 
has  been  the  potential,  the  moulding  influence  that  has  come 
down  from  them.  They  put  first  that  which  is  first  forever  more. 
They  made  central  in  their  hearts  and  homes  and  in  their  com- 
mon life,  that  which  in  all  rightly-organized  life  is  central  for- 
ever more.  The  lesson  of  all  this  history  is  a  plain  one,  not  to 
be  forgotten  by  us.  Those  whom  we  commemorate  honored  the 
church  of  God  ;  and  God  honored  them  according  to  His  ever- 
lasting ordinance  and  in  the  fulfillment  of  His  faithful  promise. 
On  Monday  evening,  the  ladies  prepared  a  banquet  in  the 
church  parlors,  which  was  appreciatingly  indulged  in  by  both 
churches — progenitor  and  offspring. 

THUS    ENDETH    THE    SECOND    CENTURY. 


APPENDIX.  55 

PRAISE     SERVICE 

AT 

ifche  4f"-.st  Congregational  Church, 

WESTFIELD,     MASS., 

SUNDAY   EVENING,    OCTOBER  5,   1879, 

In  Commemoration  of  the  Two-Hundredth   Anniversary  of  its  Foundation. 


ORDER    OF    SERVICE. 


I,     Organ  Voluntary. 
II.     Old  Hundred.     {Congregation.) 

"  Be  Thou,  O  God,  exalted  high." 

III.  Invocation. 

IV.  Anthem:     " Let  the  people  praise  Thee."     (Choir.) 

From  Costa's  "Eli." 
V.     Scripture  Sentences. 
VI.     Amsterdam.     (Congregation.) 

"  Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  -wings." 

VII.     Scripture  :     Deut.,  26  Chap. 
VIII.     Ariel.     (Congregation.) 

"  O  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth." 

IX.     Prater,  (closing  with  Lord's  Prayer,  in  concert.) 
X.     Anthem:     "  Jerusalem,  my  glorious  home."     (Choir.) 
XL     Anthem:     Denmark.     (Congregation.) 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne." 

XII.     Address,  by  Rev.  Henry  Hopkins. 

XIII.  Anthem:    "  How  lovely  are  the  Messengers."    (Choir.) 

From  Mendelssohn's  uSt.  Paul." 

XIV.  Ltons.     (Congregation.) 

"  Ye  servants  of  God,  your  Master  proclaim." 

XV.     Scripture  :     Ps.  95  and  96. 
XVI.     Lenox.     (Congregation.) 

"  Ye  houndless  realms  of  joy." 

XVII.     Anthem:     "  Praise  be  unto  God."     (Choir.) 

From  Spohr's  "Last  Judgment." 
XVIII.     Prayer. 
XIX.     Shining  Shore.     (Congregation) 

"  My  clays  are  gliding  swiftly  by." 

XX.     Benediction. 


